New Road Udon Thani

[socksy]

"Who is most interested building this road? Who will earn most of the money? There is your answer"

Ok techland maybe I'm being stupid but when I done my English exams a sentence followed by a question mark wasn't an answer. Maybe it's just me.

[rickfarang]

I hope that anybody who understands Thai and has considered going to the meeting in Ramyen 3 tonight does go and will report any new information here.

[Khun Paul]

Heard the matter is sorted they are going around the estates NOT through them,many are pleased no doubt

[wazza]

So who paid the baht ????

[FrazeeDK]

did they adjourn the meeting at Rom Yen village into Los Amigos?? It was thundering with lightning and rain starting around 6PM last night... What actually happened at the meeting?

[rickfarang]

Kuhn Paul, this is very interesting would you please elaborate?

I'm a little confused; unless something changed in the last 15 or 20 hours, why would they hold a meeting in a village that is being spared (unless, of course it was just to collect the consulting fees, which I would not believe

[Prenders88]

As far as I know the road scheme through Lake Garden/Romyen 3 is still going ahead.
The other route through empty farmland is only a suggestion.
You can jump up and down, sign as many petitions as you like, the road will come.
No local politician or any one from the Tessabaan office turned up, makes me think it is a forgone conclusion.

[Techland]

The meeting started about 30 minutes delayed. Around 200 to 250 people I guess. I didn't stay the whole time but from what my wife said they are still holding on to the first plan, and it will need continued protest to make sure it doesn't get back being the preferred one.

They showed a map where the new way going from before Lake Garden up to the Sakon Nakon road was shown, and the blue one around First home was no longer present.

Lots of farangs attended, too many IMHO, there should have been more Thais. We also had the impression that one or the other Thai might see this as chance to get more (!) money for his old house /ground (read junk) as when trying to sell it.

I am sure we will see detailed updates soon on Udon News and Udon Today.

[semperfiguy]

I too was present at the meeting last night. A few of the speakers representing the relevant authorities were trying to reassure us that serious consideration was being given to a proposed alternative route around Rom Yen, I Village and San Sa-Ran. Some of the residents spoke up and reminded the crowd that there is no guarantee that their words will be honored, so we are not to put our trust in pure speculation. Those in attendance were given a questionnaire to complete whereby we could agree or disagree with the current alignment as well as agree to the alternate route which is now being proposed. These questionnaires will also be circulated within each affected village and the residents will be given a one week extension in order to complete and return the forms to the advisory firm which represents the road project. In spite of our best efforts to make our protests as visible as possible, we have been told that the only format that they will recognize will be the opposition noted in the questionnaires.

As of last evening San Sa-Ran had collected questionnaires from 100 homes out of approximately 300, so we still have a long way to go. All 100 households opposed the project and 260 residents submitted questionnaires. I don't have any report on Rom Yen or I Village.

In my estimation we are nowhere near out of danger, and if we don't remain vigilant we will be lulled into a false sense of security. The authorities would have us to put down our swords and go to sleep while they sneak into our camp in the middle of the night and slaughter us. As usual they speak out of both sides of their mouth, and it is my opinion that we are still in for the fight of our lives. As we say back in East Tennessee..."it ain't over till the fat lady sings"!

The next official meeting will be some time in June, so I will continue to follow the progress and be cautiously optimistic, but until we see an official government certification that the alternate route has been approved, I strongly encourage all of you are will be negatively impacted to stay actively involved in the protest.

The suggested alternate route for phase one is represented by the yellow line in the drawings below:

[rickfarang]

Does the "candy cane striping" of the red route indicate that it is not longer preferred? By the way, thank you for the relatively clear photographs.

[semperfiguy]

Does the "candy cane striping" of the red route indicate that it is not longer preferred? By the way, thank you for the relatively clear photographs.

Yes!

[parrot]

There's a recap of the meeting (in Thai), along with photos, at https://www.facebook.com/udon.today.news

The last paragraph of the article has info with instructions/timelines pertaining to interested/affected parties. I'd suggest having your spouse/partner read the instructions and explain them to you.

[wazza]

so why doesnt everybody throw in 500 baht each and get their own independant lawyer . all u are doing for now is fighting against an appointed rep who has a conflict of interest. the fight is in the court not in Romyen fitness meetings.. what does the law say about this. F*k what the appointed rep . developers say etc....

[wazza]

If anyone has a Usufruct in place, then they will need to get a court approved order .....to remove you ?? See they may actually assist foreigners by having one in place, as well as securing your own future financially.

Since when does the appointed regulator dictate how concerns / votes etc be collected and reviewed. Its a standover.

It needs independent advice, legal challenges and a small but efficient group of landowners to take this on, ASAP.

Word of advice, for those who are renting there, don't sign any long term rental agreements , if they are up for renewal, go back to monthly , as you will probably loose your Security Bond anyway.

Did the developers have in their purchase contracts a section on No known developments known , or something similar.

Compensation Issues for you all to think of:

Based on recent sales in the area, not on original purchase price. Developer can provide this...
Payment of all duties and taxes on any new property purchased
Refunds of any penalties in broken leases , ( Your landlord isn't going to give u the bond back or months paid up front , as they are loosing big time )
Payment of all charges / duties fees for the termination of any outstanding mortgage
Cost of replacing any Yellow Books and Urafruct agreements.
Not sure if Immigration charge you for changing addresses ??
Disconnection fees for water / electric , if your renting, just don't pay them at the end and let the landlord settle that , LOL
Cost of new Thai ID card
Cost of Tabian Baan transfers

Get a lawyer to detail more issues as Im sure there will be more, then make that letter available to every landowner and then get everybody on the Villages to sign it, Lodge 600 of these letters !!

If you show a united and hard approach , you will be heard I hope.

Huge expats in these villages ?? anyone gone to the Expat Forum meeting lately and have them also lobby make representation to the local authorities, Impact is that many foreigners will stop supporting / buying new properties for loved ones and this impacts on Provincial GDP etc . Appointment with the governor, don't ask friends of friends, as none of them at the end of the day have any influence. Needs bums in chairs in his office with a united front.

There is a Thai who coordinates some legal issues who is married to a foreigner who lives in one of these villages who will be affected . Get them to start it.

I cant see a united front yet, apart from a meeting of angry landowners, spread out over different villages,

they are dividing and conquering already

Tell THEM the next meeting is at The City Hall and have the media attend.

Time is ticking guys and spend 10,000 to save 1.5 Million up ???

[semperfiguy]

so why doesnt everybody throw in 500 baht each and get their own independant lawyer . all u are doing for now is fighting against an appointed rep who has a conflict of interest. the fight is in the court not in Romyen fitness meetings.. what does the law say about this. F*k what the appointed rep . developers say etc....

Wazza, I think you have made some excellent suggestions below and certainly have brought some unforeseen expenses to light which probably have not been considered heretofore. As far as hiring a lawyer to fight our case, I think that very few people would be willing to make that kind of a financial commitment. Lawyers are supposedly used to solve problems, but inevitably they wind up creating more problems in order to keep the meter ticking on their fees. I think they would see this as an opportunity to stretch the case out indefinitely and milk us for every baht they possibly can. Aside from that I can't see there being any law firm in Udon that would perform without bias. We have no idea how deep seeded the corruption is and how far up the food chain it goes, so I can't imagine a law firm that would dare to commit to a fight of this sort against highly visible government agencies.

One resident has already approached an international law firm in Bangkok, and the result was not encouraging. A quote from his email follows:

"I had a meeting with the law firm of XXXXXXXXXXXXXX regarding our case. He told me there is not much we can do, for according to the law they have full right to take our homes. The only thing we can ask for is a compensation, but that will be not much, there is little room for negotiation and it will take time before payment is made. They have tried a couple of cases such as this without success".

The mere fact that they were reluctant to take on the case says a lot as far as I'm concerned. Those of us from the West have got to stop seeing this thing through Western eyes. If this were happening to me in my home country then I would know exactly what I should do, but what works back home doesn't always work in Thailand. Hopefully some well connected Thai residents will work behind the scenes to find a solution the Thai way. We expats just have to grab hold of our seats and hang on for the ride of our lives!

[wazza]

Well at least get the Lawyer to sort out a compensation agreement , inc costs etc and share that with 300 odd landholders,

That way, they will be hit with a much bigger settlement agreement as all those costs above apply across the board I imagine.

There is also the Government Body - Consumer Affairs - I know its bogged under with 000's of claims, but worth lodging a complaint.

Has anybody actually read the law of adverse possession and what compensation is stipulated by law etc,

[FrazeeDK]

here's a Thai solicitor's extract of the Thai eminent domain law.. http://thaisolicitor.com/?p=97

of course, is it completely clear that this is a government run land possession for the road project or perhaps has the government contracted the land repossession out to the developer who makes the offers???

[wazza]

Developer could be given a budget, and a % of being under budget , will be seen as an ex gratia payment.

[Techland]

Going back to an earlier information the rumour is that you don't get a single baht for what is above earth - you only get compensation for the land loss. Would be nice if someone can give correct information about this.

[12345]

correct information on a forum, good luck with that. along with any help or assistance from those with vested interest, developer and or gov't reps.

good lawyer and a filed lawsuit would be my first step. not a village meeting and survey.