URBAN PLANNENG AND ADMINISTRATION
TN THAILAND

Thesis for the Degree of M... U. P.
MTCHTGAN STATE UNWERSETY
CHM/AL LOCHAYA
1973

9&4 How

ABSTRACT
URBAN PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION
IN
THAILAND

By
Chaval Lochaya

Over the past two centuries, Thailand moved through
a period of transformation. The country's cultural, social,
as well as, economic systems were affected by internal and
external environments which caused changes in the society.
The external political climate brought Thailand to the
awareness that she grossly lacked the internal strength when
confronted with the test of a modern nation.

What problems Thailand had with warring states in
the past were replaced by the pressure of colonization of
Southeast Asia by the Western powers in the nineteenth and
twentieth century. Thailand was able, however, to gradually
strengthen her society and emerge more competent in inter-
national politics and domestic affairs by the end of nine-
teenth century.

The policy to transform Thailand into a modern state

'was laid down during King MongKut's reign, 1851-1864,

Chaval Lochaya
implemented by his son, Chularlongkorn, and the succeeding
kings of the Chakri Dynasty of Bangkok.

The major work in administrative governmental re-
form was carried out by Chularlongkorn in the last decade
of the nineteenth century. The feudal system of
territorial control was replaced with control of all
territory by the provincial governors who were administra-
tors of the Ministry of Interior. At the same time, the
country was united and placed under control of a modern
bureaucratic system of government.

Essentially, the transformation laid the foundation
for a democratic society. Thai's government had been
characterized by strong bureaucratic control and domination
of the decision-making process. The restructuring of
government was aimed at achieving centralized territorial
administration, then the government was to gradually move
toward democratic self-government. In the post trans-
formation period, 1900-1932, the new system.of government
went through a period of experimentation, examination and
expansion of levels and functions of administration.

The two major forces which helped to shape the
administrative capacities of the government were the policy
of using foreign advisers in government and the institution
of the king's scholarships for sending Thais abroad to

study. These western trained administrators were able,

Chaval Lochaya
eventually, to replace the foreign advisors. More
importantly, the western ideology of a democratic society
and government, which these students had been exposed to,
was to have a lasting affect on the character and form of
government in Thailand.

The Revolution of 1932 changed the absolute
monarchy to a constitutional monarchial form of government.
Separation of powers between the judiciary, legislative
and executive branch of government was the main feature.
For the first time, the government attempted to decentral-
ize its administrative power by instituted local self-
government of urban areas throughout the country. A
‘municipal system of local self-government was introduced
and given limited power and scope. After a period of
experimentation, the central government found local govern-
‘ment to be unsatisfactory and gradually moved the power of
decision-making back to the central government.

The causes of failure in urban administration were
numerous. First, the administrative system was created for
a centralized form of government. Administrative structure
was designed for maintaining law and order, and institutions
meant for control and regulation were often unsuitable to
‘meet the challenges of urban government under conditions of
rapid urban growth.

Second, the process of urbanization was a new

phenomenon to the Thai society. The Thais were

Chaval Lochaya

predominantly of a rural society. The process of population
transition was preceeded by the introduction of modern
technology in production and the reduction in the death

rate by the use of preventative medicine. Pressured by the
western colonial powers to increase the rate of productivity
and overseas trading also aided the movement toward urbaniza-
tion. The rate of urbanization was gradual in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. It accelerated after WOrld war II
and became significant from 1950's until the present due to
the country's involvement in the Vietnam.War.

Third, the short-time interval between the organiza-
tion of an administrative structure for centralized govern-
ment brought about by the urbanization process, were crucial
factors which added to the problem of urban administration.
Although the major aim of government is democracy, the
administrative functions were primarily organized for the
purpose of national unification. Local government assumed
that the central government was willing to decentralize and
that it was sufficiently stable, internally and externally,
to permit confidence in its ability to maintain conditions
of law and order as a normal state.

Fourth, the strongly centralized form of bureau-
cratic government, which had been instituted since ancient
time, was entrenched in the society as a whole. The problem
of urban planning, administration and accompanying de-

centralization could be interpreted as a direct threat to

Chaval Lochaya
the power of the bureaucrats, unless a new system of
organization could be based on a bureaucratic form of
government.

The concept of urban planning and administration
is new to the Thai society. The country was predominantly
rural and only within this century had urban settlement
become a prominent way of life. The national social and
economic plans are pointing toward an emphasis on the
urban sector of the country, as the important factors in
social and economic changes. Therefore, future progress in
the urban settlement of Thailand should be of vital national
concern.

Over the last forty-one years, the concept of
urban government had spread throughout the country and has
become one of the major forces of economic and social
development. In order to bring suitable urban environment
and to provide urban services in a way consistent with the
increasing higher standard of living, it has been extended
to include planning efforts at the national, regional and
local levels of governments.

By 1985 approximately 20% of the population of
Thailand will be living in urban areas as compared to 39%
in the developing regions of the world. However, the rate
of increase for the urban population is twice as fast as
for the rural areas in Thailand. The contemporary pace of

urbanization is faster than at any other period in the

Chaval Lochaya
history of Thailand. The urgency of dealing with the
problems caused by the rapid rate of urbanization is
emphasized by the fact that cities will soon become the
dominant form of settlement for most of the people in
Thailand.

The contemporary concept of urban settlement is
new to the Thai society. Government has had only limited
experience in the planning and administration of urban areas.
The history of the Thai government has been characterized by
highly centralized bureaucracy. The conCept of local self
government exists but only at the lowest level of the pre-
dominantly rural society. The complexity and impersonal
character of urban self government have yet to find a
creative expression in a society, which is gradually moving
through the process of urbanization. New and better means
of urban planning and administration are essential for
future progress of the country as a whole.

There are two related elements which affect govern-
mental planning and administration which are beyond the
scape of this study. One is the political system of the
country. The other is the problem of external security,
which is directly influenced by the political situation in
Southeast Asia region as a whole. The willingness of the
central government to decentralize and give political
autonomy to different levels of local government depends on

the question of national security as well as identity.

'1

(m

Chaval Lochaya

The process of urbanization can play a meaningful
role in achieving national identity, provided that the
national policy for urban development is integrated with
the national social and economic development policy. Al-
though at present the urban sector is small, future pro-
gress will gradually, though increasingly, involve the
provision of a sound foundation and creative environment
for the growth of the urban community as well as for the
rest of the nation. The need for a national policy for
urban development is a reality for a developing country,
such as Thailand, where resources are underdeveloped, the
rate of population growth is high and urban government is
inexperienced in the process of social and economic develop-
ment. A national policy for urban development can serve
as a communication and information focus and give direction
for concerted effort.

Experience in developing countries has shown that
for a national policy to become meaningful and realistic
to local communities, it must have the capacity of and
capability to translate goals and objectives into tangible
programs for the urban communities. The use of an urban
region as an integral part in the process of national
development and planning has improved the local perspective
of national issues and policies. Unfortunately, regional
administration and planning are at their rudimentary levels

in Thailand. Previous attempts at a regional form of

Chaval Lochaya
government has not produced a cohesive regional government.
Both the central and provincial governments were not willing
to redefine their political and territorial jurisdictions.

At present the strongest move toward regional
planning is fostered by the National Economic Deve10pment
Board. These plans recommend regional development projects
which, if responsive regional administration are developed,
could have become truly regional in character. In Thailand
the importance of regionalism is predominantly political in
nature. Often, different regions felt that the lack of
regional planning contributed to the government's imposing
an unrealistic national policy. Although this study does
not deal directly with regional politics, it recommends
feasible governmental organization and activities for future
development in urbanization.

working tools which will make the urban region
functional are comprehensive planning and programs of public
finance. Planning is an evolutionary process which
creates alternative programs of resource allocation to carry
out the development of the community. Thailand is one of
these countries where planning is in the governmental
domain and economic resources lie within the private sector.
This situation weakens the planning process, especially in
the financing of planning programs. It is essential,
therefore, that the private sector and governmental agencies,

particularly those which are concerned with planning and

Chaval Lochaya
finance, have means of efficient communication and tools
to resolve conflicts and differences into constructive
goals. Creative use of comprehensive planning and urban
public finance programs can help provide a meeting place
for co-operative effort.

The problems of intergovernmental organization
and coordination are due to inefficient system of communi-
cation and the lack of delegation of responsibility.
Governments facing the complex problems of urbanization
tend to withhold the decision-making power from the lower
or local authorities. They fear that the local units are
not capable of making such complex decisions; however, in
reality the opposite has often proven to be the case.
Given the technical knowledge and cooperation of the
higher levels of government, local authorities are well
capacitated to solve their own problems. It is the lack
of cooperation that oftentimes limits the decision-making
ability of local government.

Effectiveness and success of any governmental
activity is directly related to citizen participation and
representation. Governmental planning programs most al-
ways involve the improvement of the general public and their
environment. Especially in the planning process, the
setting of goals and objectives, as well as the implementa-
tion of the plan, require vital citizen participation and

representation.

URBAN PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION
IN THAILAND

By
Chaval Lochaya

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER IN URBAN PLANNING
School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture

1973

r‘x.
1,} J
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(I‘ "-‘.
.. '\'
‘.i
z:

to my Parents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my gratitude to my academic
and thesis advisor, Professor Charles W. Barr, for his
valuable comments and guidance on the thesis and my
academic program at Michigan State University.

Sincere appreciation is also extended to the Thai
government, for the financial aid. Most of all, I wish
to express my gratitude to my professors, classmates and
friends, who, in a number of ways, have helped me toward

the completion of this thesis.

ii

CHAPTER
I.

II.

III.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH .

A. The Founding of Thailand .
B. Pre-Modern Development .

l. The Sukhothai Kingdom 1237-1350

2. Early Ayuthia 1350- 1431 . .

3. Ayuthia Bureaucracy 1431- 1767
GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

A. The Central Government .

l. The Executive

2. The Office of the Prime Minister .

3. Administrative Agencies
4. The Ministry of Interior .

B. Regional Government .
C. Local Governments

Provincial Government
District Government
Commune Government .
Village Government .
Municipal Government .

LII-L‘LDNH

GOVERNMENT PLANNING ACTIVITIES .

A. National Planning . .
B. Regional Development . . .
C. Urban Development and Planning .

Objectives

Functions . . .
WOrk Accomplished
Planning Coordination
Comprehensive Planning .
Advocacy Planning .
Planning Law .

\lO‘U‘J-‘UDNH

iii

PAGE

\IU'IUJ OOH

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued ...)

CHAPTER PAGE
IV. URBAN DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
A. Over- Urbanization . . . . . . 77
B. Urbanization For Modernization . . . . 81
C. Population Growth and Distribution . . 82
1. Population Growth . . . . . . . . . 83
2. Urban- Rural Population . . . . 84
3. Level and Rate of Urbanization
by Municipal Area . . . . . . . . . 85
D. Census and Registration . . . . . . . . 88
1. Data and Measurement of Urban
Place and Population . . . . . . . 92
V. ALTERNATIVES & RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . 97
A A. National Policy for Urban Development . 103
B. Urban Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
1. Types and Functions of Regional
Organization . . . . . . . . 107
2. Regional Coordination . . . . . . . 110
3. Regional Administration and '
Comprehensive Planning . . . . . . 111
C. Comprehensive Urban Planning . . . . . 111

1. Relationship Among National,

Regional and Local Plans . . . 112
2. Function of Comprehensive Planning. 114
3. Implementation of Comprehensive

Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
D. Urban Public Finance . . . . . . . . . 117
1. Planning, Programming and
Budgeting Systems . . . . . . . . . 118
2. Revenue Sharing . . . . . . 119
3. Public Service and Capital
Improvement Program . . . . . . . . 121

E. Intergovernmental Organization &
Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

1. Local Responsibility of Public
Service . . . . . . 123

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued . . .)

CHAPTER PAGE
2. Local Planning Legislation . . . . . 125
3. Administrative Regulation . . . . . 127
4. Communication and Cooperation . . . 128

F. Popular Participation and Representation 129

1. Popular Participation in the

Planning Process . . . . 130
2. Participation and Representation
in Urban Government . . . . . 132
3. Advisory Councils and Boards . . . . 133
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

TABLE

II.

III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.

LIST OF TABLES

Local Administration Development
Expenditures, 1964-1966 . .

Second Plan Local Administration
Development Expenditure Ratios for
Bangkok-Than Buri and Others

Sources of Local Development Financing
During the Second Plan . . . .

Distribution of Local Administration-
Development Expenditure by Type of
Activity During the Second Plan

1967- 1971 . . . .

Second Plan Regional and Local Develop-
ment Budget Summary . . . . . .

Percentage Distribution of Urban Places
and Urban Population by Size and Places.

Comparative Data on Percent Urban and
Change in Urban-Rural Population 1960-
1985 in Developed and Developing
Regions of the Wbrld . . .

Number of Population and Percent in
Agricultural Households . .

Thailand, Adjusted Census and
Population Growth Rates 1919-1960

Thailand Total Population (1880-1960).
Number of Children ever born per 1, 000

‘Married Women, Life Time Migration Status,
1960 Urban-Rural Residences . .

vi

PAGE

. 48

. 49

. 50

. 52

66

86

87

90

90

91

96

LIST OF MAPS

Kingdoms Influential in the History
of Thailand . . . . . .

Transportation Networks
Geographical Regions

Population Concentration .

vii

PAGE

47
64
79

CHAPTER I
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH

A. The Founding of Thailand

When the Thais migrated into what is now Thailand,
they already carried with them a long experience in urban
settlement of different feudal states in the southern part
of China. The Thai event in the most ancient time
possessed a system of land tenureship whereby every man was
allowed to hold a certain amount of land, but be regulated
in accordance with his rank and position. Such System
characterized the early Thai states as feudalistic, with a
territorial basis for organization.

The concept of urban settlement was also well
understood and practiced by the Khmer of Angkor, when the
Thai arrived in Southeast Asia. The Khmer had a complex
and well defined system of centralized bureaucratic govern-
ment which, in form and practice, represented in microcomm,
the universe itself. The Khmer Empire ruled vast terri-
tories on both sides of the Mekong River. The center at
Angkor ruled through its urban satellites. The symbolistic
form of the government was supported by realistic scientific

ability to irrigate and cultivate the plain, which provided

 
 
   
  
 
     
 
 

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3
agricultural surplus for the society. When the Khmer lost
their scientific ability, the Empire lost its power and was

finally overcome by its neighbors the Thais.

B. Pre-Modern Development

The early development of Thailand was influenced by
two cultures. The feudal system of China, which the Thais
carried with them.into Southeast Asia and the Brahman and
Buddhist religions, which came from India, were adopted by
the Thais to foster a sense of unity which the feudal system
lacked.

The historical development was characterized by
assflmilation of cultural and social values from.India and
China and although contact with the West had been well
established (a Greek became a Prime Minister in the Ayuthia
period), there was no noticeable influence of the Western
culture at that time.

The historical development period can be divided
into three periods:

1. The Sukhothai Kingdom 1237-1350

2. The Early Ayuthia Period 1350-1431

3. The Ayuthia Bureaucracy 1431-1767
1. The Sukhothai Kingdom 1237-1350

The first unified Thai kingdom in the present home-
land was established at Sukhothai in the 13th century.

Under King Sri Indradithya, the Thais were able to unite

4

some local principalities, to throw off the Khmer rule, and
to establish a patriarchal monarchy at Sukhothai. Under
Ram Kamheang, one of Thailand's ablest kings, boundaries
were extended and control was exercised over the greater
part of present Thailand. The government of this period
was characterized by a paternal king and a territorially-
based feudalism. There was little distinction between
civilians and soldiers; all men performed both military and
civil duties under feudal nobles who owed allegiance to the
king.

City and City State: In the period dominated by

 

the rulers of Sukhothai, the "muang", literally translated
as city or town, was the basic administrative unit and its
elastic meaning embraced the more modern concept of kingdom,
town, and province. It originally signified a city-state
governing the surrounding territory, usually the land within
a radius of thirty-miles or two days journey from the
capital.

The capital city Sukhothai, brought under its
jurisdiction neighboring muangs, which were then assigned to
the king's sons to administer. In time, these muangs
became almost independent kingdoms, loosely held together
by the feudal principles of reciprocal defense. King Ram
Kamheang vastly expanded his influence from Sukhothai,
and created four satellite city states. The concept of city

or city states as a functional unit of governmental

5
organization, as well as,a territorial domain was used as
a means to create a sense of national unity in the
Sukhothai kingdom.

When the prince of U-Thong transferred the new
capital to Ayuthia, part of the Sukhothai kingdom was
absorbed into his new domain. The first displacement of
the capital typified the Thai's history and shows the in-
stability of the country's towns. The fact that they were
principally administrative centers, so important that they
often gave their name to the State, differentiated them
from the market oriented towns in other parts of Southeast
Asia. Endless warfare between the various principalities
and kingdoms undermined these towns, since they were usually
sacked, burned, stripped of wealth and the population became
war slaves of the victors.

2. Early Ayuthia 1350-1431

From the beginning of the Ayuthia period until the
reform of King Trailok a century later, the fundamental
governmental concept was based on a relatively simple four-
court organization. The heads of these courts were called
"Senabodi" or ministers. The four courts were the basic
elements deemed to be the essence of the Thai polity.

The royal treasury "klang" held the central position,
since the well being of the kingdom usually depended on
the surplus it accumulated. The second court, "wang"

represented the king and his authority which were usually

6
identifiable by the royal family and noblemen. The king
represented the supreme power, yet his power was dependent
upon his treasury in time of war as well as in helping to
carry out his decisions.

The third court, "muang" represented the concept
of the city states supporting the capital and the king.
These cities served the king by carrying out his wishes as
well as supplying him.with taxes and armament in time of
war. The city served as one of the essential organization-
al links, whereby the king could reach the common people.
It also gave a territorial identity to the unity of the
kingdom. Although traditional Thai society had been based
on agricultural activities, it was the city, where import-
ant decisions and innovations were found. In time of war
a kingdom was lost or won by the fall or beginning of a
capital.

The fourth court, "na , literally translated means
rice field, represented the general population engaged in
rice cultivation. This outermost region was the base upon
which the whole governmental structure rested.

Such a simple concept of government organization
was suitable to a small state, but was not functional when
the size and complexity of the society increased. The
problem of organization became increasingly inadequate as

the kingdom grew. After the Thais overcame the Khmer

Empire at Angkor in 1431, this system was modified by the

7

Khmer system of bureaucratic government.

3. Ayuthia BureaucraCy 1431-1767

 

In 1431 King Trailok overcame the Khmer at Angkor,
and brought back a new system of court and administrative
organization. The influence of Brahman Cosmology, the
concept of the divine king, became one of the driving
forces of the new political system and had a lasting effect
on Thailand. The microcosmic world of men and the macro-
cosmic universe of the gods, represented by the central
position of a divine monarch, was replicated in the palace
architecture, the town, and the bureaucratic structure.
The design of palaces and towns was to match the universal
order and provide an architectural framework within which
the organization of government was to take form.

a. Centralization: The essence of King Trailok's

 

reform was a centralized control of the outlying provinces,
which until then had only lightly felt the control of the
king and capital. As the first step in bringing the
provinces under royal authority, the king appointed
officials responsible directly to him and transferred the
feudal lords, who had formally ruled there, to the lesser
provinces. Beyond these extended the tributary states
nominally vassals to the king, but ruled by their own
hereditary princes.

Until the time of King Trailok, the different

principalities of the Thai kingdom, whether presided over

8

by other princes or by officials of lower rank, had been
governed more or less like small independent states, levy-
ing their armies, controlling their own finances and taxes
and managing their own internal affairs. King Trailok
made the first attempt at centralization and at the same
time he brought about a separation of the civil and
military administration which had previously been closely
interwoven. For the civil administration five departments
were instituted: Ministry of the Interior under a Prime
Minister, Ministry of Local Government which was in charge
of the capital and province of Ayuthia, the Ministry of
Finance, Ministry of agriculture in charge of cultivation
of food supply and matters connected with the tenure of
land, and Ministry of the Royal Household in charge of
Palace Affairs and the administration of justice. For the
military, a separate Prime Minister, the "Kalahom" was
set up, with several officials under him, ranking as
ministers, and in charge of different military departments.

b. Local Government: This centralization proved
beneficial to the growth of the nation, but was burdensome

to the people. They had to pay heavier taxes to support

the court in the capital as well as the provincial governors.

The revenues from the richest provinces were such as to

 

1W’.A.R. WOods, A History of Siam, revised edition
1933, pp. 83-98.

 

9
create fierce competition for the governorship. Provincial
governors were entitled to half of the tax on riceland, all
legal confiscation, 10% of the fines imposed, custom duties
on ships and cargoes in the maritime provinces.

The people being forbidden to travel from one
province to another had no other recourse than to flee into
the jungle or sell themselves as slaves to a patron powerful
enough to protect them from official exploitation. The
provincial administration was patterned after that of the
central government, though the different provinces were
classified and staffed according to their importance. The
village remained the administrative unit under both the
feudal and central government schemes. The feudal system
was gradually changed to patronalism, a system of patron and
client. Feudalism disappeared territorially with the spread
of the king's authority and with the growth of absentee
landlords. When the lords were drawn to the capital it al-
most vanished from the provinces.2

Bureaucracy was not only an instrument of adminis-
tration, but became a principle of social organization.
Everyone in the kingdom, from the king to the common man

had a definite place in the hierarchy. A system of ranks

2Virginia Thompson, Thailand the New Siam,l967,
pp. 233-266.

 

10

and title for officials and royal princes, and a system of
grades for common officials, indicated the status, rights
and privileges of each person.

c. Modern Development: The historical development
of the Thais was a gradual process. The Thais borrowed
and adapted from other cultures. Although there were wars
with neighboring states, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, progress
was made in the arts and sciences. As the country grew, so
did government organizations. There was no immediate ex-
ternal pressure, which would have demanded the society to
change suddenly.

The challenging pressure came with the westerner's
colonization of Southeast Asia in the 19th century. The
presence of western powers in Southeast Asia was a stark
reality. To the Thai it meant that either they improved
their strength and the well being of the society as a whole,
or be dominated by Westerners. Thus, the policy was to
transform Thailand into a modern state capable of answering
to the pressure of western powers. This policy was laid
down by King Mongkut, Rama IV, and was augmented by his son
Chulalongkorn, Rama V, (Bangkok, Chakri Dynasty). By the
end of Rama V's reign, Thailand was unified into one single
modern state, the government was well staffed by special-
ized professional civil service, and the ground work was

laid for democratic self government.

11

The modern development can be divided into five

stages as follows:

1.

The First Period, 1851-1873: During this

period ground work was laid, creating favor-

able environment for a basic structural change.
This was the period of King Mongkut's reign,
during which doors were opened for the in-
trusion of western influences, but the basic
organization of government remained intact.

The period extended through the first year of
King Chulalonghorn's reign, when he was under

the control of a regent who perpetuated Mongkut's
policy.

The Second Period, 1873-1891: King Chulalongkorn
took over effective control of government. In
this period several new, functionally special-
ized departments were created, with the help of
western advisers, to carry out essential new
activities of limited scope. Basically, these
were staff departments remaining outside the
established line departments of the government.
The Third Period 1892-1900: This period is
characterized by sweeping reorganization of the
core governmental structures, and the elimination
of many old courts and chambers. New departments

were also consolidated under ministerial control,

12
although a few of the courts were reoriented
as ministries and some palaces were per-
mitted to continue to exist without substantial
‘modifications. In a sense, 1892 was a year of
a "silent revolution". In more contemporary
jargon, it was a time of government "takeoff".
The changes were made possible by the fact that
some of the new ministries were established on
foundations that had already been laid, and that
the more sacred structures of the old regime
were permitted to continue without substantial
modification. Moreover King Chulalongkorn was
able to wait for the strategic moment to carry
out his reforms, thereby permitting the trans-
formation to occur without violence or mmeh
apparent break in political continuity.
The Fourth Period 1900-1932: The fourth period
which ran from approximately 1900 until the
revolution of 1932 was a stage of consolidation,
readjustment and expansion of work set in the
previous period.
The Fifth Period 1932-1973: The revolution of
1932, which changed the form of government to a
constitutional monarchy, accelerated and con-

solidated the structural change of the bureaucracy.

13
These changes which had already been
launched, were characterized by the deepening
of the pattern of functional specialization.3

In the first period the basic development policy to
mobilize pressure for change was laid down by King Mongkut.
The treaty of 1855 with Great Britain, negotiated by Sir John
Bowing, opened the door for expanded trade, introduced extra-
territoriality and abolished the royal control of custom
duties, but it also undermined the traditional financial base
for the royal government. By 1868, King Mongkut had signed
eight such treaties with other European powers, extending
similar privileges to all of them.

In 1873 when King Chulalongkorn assumed control of
the government, Thailand witnessed more drastic innovation.
Shortly after taking power in 1874, the king named a royal
commissioner to reside in Chiang Mai. Thus began a process
of national unification by extension of royal control over
distant provinces which led, eventually to the creation of
the Ministry of Interior and the imposition of an effective
system of local territorial administration.

Equally important innovations were in the field of

public administration. In 1875 the Revenue Department Office

 

3Fred W. Riggs, Thailand, The MOdernization of
Bureaucratic Policy, 1966, pp. 111-131.

14

was established. At that time tax collections were frag-
mented and distributed throughout different governmental
agencies, which farmed out their tax collecting power to
Chinese agents. The new office was able to consolidate
some taxes and carried out an analysis of potential revenue
sources. The difficulties in communication with remote
provinces was overcome with the western technology of tele-
graph, telephone and railroad lines. In 1885 the Department
of Foreign Relations was set up. Another agency established
during this preparatory period was a Department of Public
Instruction which became the Ministry of Education in 1889.

Further governmental reorganization came during
the third period of transformation, 1892-1900. On April 1,
the King promulgated an edict which effectively restructured
the entire bureaucracy and laid the foundation upon which
the present administrative organization of government con-
tinues to rest. The core of the reorganization was the
Ministry of Interior where territorial administration of the
whole kingdom was focused. The Ministry was under the
direction of Prince Damrong, who continued to provide effec-
tive guidance and control of this major agency until 1915.
At the same time the Ministries of Finance, Defense, Com-
munication, Education and Foreign Affair were reorganized.
The four courts of Klang, wang, Muang and Na were lessened
in their functions. Only Na Court was to retain substantial

function as the Ministry of Agriculture.

15

The Ministry of Interior combined the territorial
administrations, and provided a basis within which
virtually all services from other ministries were embedded.
The regional, provincial and district officers were res-
ponsible within their territorial jurisdiction. Functional
specialists in agriculture, health, education and other
fields were attached to and administratively subordinate to
these generalist officials of the Ministry of the Interior.
Although these specialists were selected and paid for by
their ministries, they have to go through the territorial
administrative agency to communicate with their own head-
quarters. Thus, the territorial administrative power is
well centralized and controlled by the Ministry of Interior.
Thus, the internal government organization took on the form
of territorial generalist officials in control of the
administrative policy, coupled with an impressive growth in
the scope of the specialist officials in other ministries.4
At present, the country is divided into 72 provinces
(chungwats), 448 districts (amphurs), 4,900 communes (tambonsl
and 50,000 villages (mubans). Each province contains an
average of 5 to 10 districts; each district, 6 to 10 communes;
and each commune, 12 to 20 villages. The central government
has no regular appointed officials working below the district
level; the district is the first, and usually the last,

point of contact between the central authority and the

 

4Ibid.. pp. 111-131.

16
individual. Even that contact is rare, and for the villager,
personal knowledge of government activity usually stops at
the village or commune level.

'With the establishment of the Ministry of Interior
in 1892, Thailand found a viable solution to the problem of
national unity. By the new system of territorial adminis-
tration, Thailand replaced her theoretical suzerainty of the
far provinces and states with actual administrative control.

In ancient times Thailand was divided into about
sixty muangs, each dependent on Bangkok but placed under
different ministries on a geographical basis. Those of the
north and east were controlled by the Ministry of Interior;
those of the west by the Ministry of War; and the maritime
provinces by the Foreign Office. Bangkok had its own ad-
ministration. In 1892, all of the adminiStrative affairs of
the provincial muangs were placed under the reorganized
Ministry of Interior. lbur or five muangs were henceforth
grouped together and renamed "changwads" or provinces.

These provinces then were organized into administrative
circles or regions called "monthon".

In 1926, the number of monthons was reduced from
eighteen to fourteen and the number of changwats to seventy-
nine. In 1932 the number of monthons was once again reduced
to ten and the number of the changwats to seventy. Soon

after this the regional system of local administration was

17
abolished.5

Two of King Chulalongkorn's innovations in public
administration are of special interest: the adoption of a
system of Western advisors, and the creation of King's
scholarships for study abroad. The practice of sending
young Thai abroad had two effects; first, it developed a
supply of skilled native administrators which later brought
about diminished dependence upon foreign advisors. Second,
almost without exception, those who received a Western
education were absorbed into the government service, which
strengthened the bureaucracy. The policy was to educate not
only royalty, but also promising commoners.

‘With the increased scope and variety of government
activities made necessary the employment of specialists,
and the creation of schools and training centers for civil
servants. A Royal Pages school established by the King in
1902 later became the Civil Service College and in 1917
became Chulalongkorn University. In 1933, the University of
Moral and Political Science was established which later was
named the Thammasat University. After thirty years there
was a surplus of ambitious able young men, anxious for more

influential roles in government who were able to carry out

 

5Virginia Thompson, Thailand, The New Siam, second
edition, 1967, pp. 233-266.

 

18
the first non-royal rebellion and brought about constitutional
monarchy.6

While the 1932 coup was a contest between royalist
and middle class commoners, the subsequent struggle in Thai
politics has been chiefly a contest between the two factions
of the political groups, the civilian liberals and the
military conservatives. The royalist, insofar as they have
participated at all, have sided alternatively with one group
or the other. Since 1947 the army faction headed, until
1957, by Field Marshal Pibul and subsequently by Field
Marshall Sarit has been dominant.

Since 1932, progress toward achieving the democratic
ideals of the original coup had been slow and hesitant. For
a time political parties were outlawed and not until 1955
were laws enacted to authorize and regulate the organization
and activities of political parties. The value of a strong
and loyal opposition party as a means through which the
people can formulate and express their opinions and dis-
contents in a peaceful and constitutional manner, has not
been appreciated.

In a sense, the 1932 revolution did not institute

democracy but simply broadened the base of oligarchy. This

 

6Joseph B. Kingsbury and Robert F. Wilcox, The
Principles of Public AdminiStration in Thailand, 1961,
pp. 20-33.

19
does not mean that the governments have been harsh or des-
potic. While it is authoritarian, the government is
generally benevolent, and exhibits a genuine and paternalis-

tic concern for the people, particularly in matters relating

to their livelihood.7

 

7Ibid.. pp. 20-26.

CHAPTER II
GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

A. The Central Government

The government of Thailand is in theory, organized
on the principles of separation of powers. There are
separate and clearly distinct executive, legislative and
judicial establishments, which along with a constitutional
monarchy, compose the central government. The king is con-
stitutionally the head of the state and all power is exer-
cised in his name. I

l. The Executive

 

The executive branch dominates the other divisions
of the government; it makes and implements policy, holds
the legislature in virtual subservience and supervises in-
directly the operation of the judiciary. The executive
branch is organized into different ministries whose chiefs
are all members of the Council of Ministers, the Cabinet,
and whose work is supervised and coordinated by the Office
of the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers frames and
implements all important national policies and is the
center around which the political system revolves. In

addition, there are a number of quasi- autonomous agencies

20

21

which perform certain specialized functions under ministrial
supervision.
2. ’The Office of the Prime Minister

The most important member of the Cabinet is the
prime minister who holds the ultimate power of appointment,
investigation and review. He countersigns all royal decrees,
appoints and dismisses other ministers, presides over
Cabinet meetings and controls their agenda. He also appoints
and removes civil servants holding the ranks of permanent
under secretary and head of department. Under the doctrine
of emergency justice, the Interim Constitution of 1959 and
1973 empowers the prime minister, in times of national
emergency, to take all steps necessary to maintain security
and aid economic progress. The prime minister also heads the
National Economic Development Council, the National Security
Council and many more. The duties and functions of the
Office of the Prime Minister are complex and all-embracing.
It has the multi-functional duties of policy formulation,
planning, coordinationand supervision. Its scope and power
have grown so immensely since 1958 that the Office of the
Prime Minister is in effect a government within the govern-
ment.
3. Administrative Agencies

Administrative agencies fall into two categories:
ministries and quasi-autonomous agencies created by statute.

All ministries are organized on the same basic pattern.

22

The top civil service official in each ministry is the
permanent under-secretary of state, who is responsible to
the political minister. Aided by one or more deputy under-
secretaries and a small staff, he advises the minister,
handles non-political matters and represents the ministry
on boards and committees. Below the permanent under-
secretary and his staff are the various departments, usually
three or more in each ministry. Each department, headed by
a director, is divided into three or more divisions. The
divisions in turn are divided into several sections. In
addition, many of the departments with countrywide concerns
maintain provincial and district staffs throughout the
country.

4. The Ministry of Interior

 

The Ministry of Interior is the most important of
the civil agencies, having more employees and, except for
the Ministries of Defense and Education, larger appropri-
ations than any other ministry. It appoints and dismisses
the heads of all the regions, provinces and districts,
including Bangkok Municipality, and exercises general con-
trol over local governmental affairs. It is also in charge
of police, law enforcement and prisons; it operates a
limited social welfare program and occasionally intervenes
in labor disputes. In addition, the Ministry of Interior

administers the power of eminent domain, engages in municipal

23
planning and public works, and conducts antisubversive

activities.1

B. REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

The development of regional government is closely
identifiable with the development of territorial adminis-
tration, when the Ministry of Interior created the monthon,
or the regional administrative agency. The organization,
however, was used as a political tool to dismantle the power
of different provincial lords. Bangkok wished to eliminate
their powers and bring different areas under the direct
control of the government. The lord-lieutenants of the
monthons were able to reduce the territorial lord to sub-
mission, converting them to appointed governors and their
land into the new administrative province.

Once the different lords were overcome and a new
corps of provincial governors were created, who had no
option but to be loyal to the central government, a new
phase of intra-bureaucratic struggle commenced. The king
had, to a large extent, relied on the princes of the royal
family to staff the monthons, just as he had used them to

fill important posts in different ministries. The new

 

1United States Government, Area Handbook for
Thailand, revised August 1966, pp. 307-323.

 

24

governors, however, were for the most part commoners, who
had accepted the career system, substituting upward
mobility as a career goal instead of the feudal control of
the land. Their prospects of promotion to the t0p ranks
were blocked by the grip of princes on the choice monthon
posts. Moreover, the regional offices stood blocking them
from district access to the ministry headquarters in Bangkok.

When the Thai government under the constitutional
regime came into power in 1932, they formed an alliance
with the governors to eliminate the royal lord-lieutenants
of the monthons. It was apparent that the government's
policy was aimed at establishing the province as the primary
unit of territorial administration and making the governor
the most important man. Actually, Rama VII, Prachatipok,
had already started to dismantle the monthons for economic
reasons prior to the revolution. Also by that time modern
means of communication had made it unnecessary to have an
intervening level between provinces and the center in order
to secure coordination of policy. The monthons were con-
sidered an administrative and communication bottleneck and,
finally, their elimination was heralded as a democratic
measure which would strengthen local autonomy.

Having eliminated the monthon, the promoters of the
new constitutional monarchy also made a bid for the support
of the functionally specialized departments by granting

them more direct access to their field personnel. As a

25
result of these changes, the specialized departments were
able to expand their regional administrative territorial
control. Consequently, each department or ministry began
to create its own regional organizations. At first they
simply appointed inspectors in the headquarters office,
each of whom had responsibility for the department's work
in a particular group of provinces. Later it seemed desir-
able to station these inspectors more permanently in the
field and, accordingly, in 1941 a new regional organization,
the "peak", was created. The country was divided into five
peaks, and the ministries and departments then appointed
regional committees under the chairmanship of an inspector
from the Ministry of Interior.

This set-up, however, still provoked dissatisfac-
tion, as governors and provincial officers continued to
insist onczommunicating directly with Bangkok. The central
government appeared reluctant to delegate sufficient res-
ponsibility to the regional offices to enable them to impose
coordinative control over the provinces in each region.

The result was continuing confusion and dissatisfaction,
with growing tensions between officials at the provincial,
regional and central levels of government. In the late
nineteen forties, this regional scheme was abolished, but
in 1952 the new Administration of the Kingdom Act divided
the country into nine regions. Still the regional office

was not given any territorial administrative authority

26
and was viewed by the governors as a block to direct access
to the central government. This system proved quite un-
workable and was eliminated in 1956. The Governors'
Conference in May 1956, while supporting the government's
"democratization" and "decentralization" programs, recommended
that the regional offices be abolished. The governors were
at the height of their power and they were able to control
the technical specialists in their own office. They thus
overthrew the imposition of regional control and became
the prime local administrative officers directly responsible
to the central government.

The present Regionaerevelopment Committees are
quasi- autonomous agencies of the central government entirely
supported financially by the national budget. There are five
Regional Development Committees covering 61 of the 72 prov-
inces:

1. Northern Ibvelopment Committee: responsible

for 16 provinces from southern Uthai Thani to
northern Chiang Rai.

2. Northeastern Development Committee: covering

15 provinces from Nakhon Ratchasima to the
eastern border.

3. Southern Development Committee: administering

14 provinces from Chumphon down to the Malaysian

border.

27

4. Eastern Development Committee: covering 8
provinces from Samut Prakan to Trat.

5. Western Development Committee: responsible
for 8 provinces for Samut Sakhon to Northern
Suphan Buri and southern Prachuap Khiri Khan.

At present, there is no special Regional Deve10pment

Committee for the central 8 provinces around the Greater
Metropolitan Bangkok Area and the Chao Phraya River Valley
since they already receive benefits from irrigation and
agriculture from the Chao Phraya River Valley Development
Program. However, a special committee for these remaining
provinces may be set up in the future. The Regional Deve10p-
ment Committees coordinate and implement regional plans and
programs. Their functions are:

1. Acting as the Government's representative in
the course of regional development activities
assigned to each Committee.

2. Establishing policy and courses of action for
the respective regions in coordination with
the overall development plan.

3. Obtaining special funds in addition to the
budget apprOpriations, both in the form of sub-
sidies and Governmental Departmental expendi-
tures. The special funds constitute only a
minor fraction of the whole regional develop-

ment budget, but their use for special programs

28

in each individual province can be

significant.

C. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The present local administrative body in Thailand
consists of 72 provincial administrative agencies, 120
municipalities, 503 sanitary districts, 53 district
administrative agencies, 4,900 communes and 50,000 villages.
The main function of these local government organizations,
apart from the basic activities of providing welfare and
security, is to provide public utilities and services; i.e.
communication, transportation, health, education, and urban
development. The public services provided by these local
governments are the principle factdrs in the economic and
social development plan of the country. Therefore it is
extremely important that local administration is well
planned, and has adequate systems to carry out the programs,
as well as being well staffed with capable administrative
personnel.

It has been normal in Western countries for self-
government to find its most vital expression in the autonomy
of municipalities and local governmental agencies. The long
history of free cities provides abundant evidence of the
ability of urban populations, crowded together and increas-
ingly interdependent, to create a mechanism for their own

self-government.

29

In the Thai's political development, the in-
itiative for municipal self-government did not come from
within the cities but from central officials of the absolute
monarchy. The first efforts to establish local self-
government in Thailand were actually made under an experi-
ment with the creation of a "sukapibahn", or sanitary dis-
trict, in a commune of Samud Sakorn Province, a short dis-
tance southwest of Bangkok. Provision was made for the
creation of a board, all of whose members were appointed
ex officio, namely the village headmen with the commune
headman as chairman. This board was authorized to collect
certain taxes, largely on houses and building construction,
to be used for the maintenance of local public works, such
as roads, bridges, and lights, and to enforce local
sanitation rules in a congested coastal fishing area.2

In 1908 and again in 1915 new acts were promulgated
expanding the powers of the sanitary district, providing that
similar boards could be established elsewhere on the
recommendation of the provincial governor and the "monthon"
or region head. By the time of the revolution of 1932, it
is estimated that there were some forty-five sukahpibahns.

According to an act promulgated in 1914, qualified

voters in each village were authorized to elect their own

 

2Fred W. Riggs, "Thailand,The Modernization of a
Bureaucratic, 1966, pp. 177-207.

 

30
headmen, but the district officer presided over the elec-
tion. The headmen of all the villages in a commune in turn
chose one of themselves to be the commune head. Although,
in this manner, the rural population was introduced to some
of the forms of local self government, it may be doubted
that they experienced much of its reality. The sukahpibahn,
commune, and village institutions at that time were largely
controlled by the central government officials.

After the revolution of 1932, more serious and
sustained efforts were made to launcha system of effective
local self-government. As soon as the promoters of the
revolution had seized power in 1932, they publicly announced
their devotion to the principles of democratic constitutional
government, which was interpreted to mean local government
as well as representative institutions in the national
government. At the same time that they were setting up a
national assembly, and planning to democratize the legis-
lative process on the basis of national elections, they
were also considering ways to institute local representative
processes.

The ultimate stage of full popular sovereignty was
to be reached by a gradual process of political education
in which the choice of representatives by indirect elections
was to be used. According to this idea, which was written
into the Provisional Constitution of 1932, the villagers

would choose representatives who would then meet in electorial

31.
colleges at the district level to choose provincial assem-
blies; these in turn, would name members of the National
Assembly. These local elections would be limited in func-
tion to the selection of national assemblymen, but
potentially at least, they would lay the foundation for a
system of local self-government.

The arguments for local government were no doubt
supplemented, in the mind of central officials who may still
at heart have espoused old principles of royal authoritarian-
ism, by the view that the bureaucratic authority of the
central government ought to be extended more deeply into
rural districts and urban areas, and that some forms of
carefully controlled local government would serve this
purpose. By mobilizing the population for political parti-
cipation and securing their involvement in programs in-
tended to improve their own welfare, centrally designed
programs and goals could be acc-mplished with lower cost
and without seriously compromising the power of the national
officials themselves. Accordingly we find the theme of
administrative effectiveness often mixed with the ideal of
popular sovereignty in arguments for enhanced local self
government.

1. Provincial Government

 

The Municipalities Government Act of 1933 also
provided for establishment of provincial councils. However

they were not intended to serve as organs of self-government,

32
as were the municipal assemblies. Rather, the expectation
was that they would provide a body of leading citizens to
advise the governor in the performance of his duties. The
law specified various criteria, such as geographic and
professional representation and minimum standards of age,
education, and orientation. Candidates were to be nominated
by the governor and appointed officially by the Ministry of
Interior. The governor would himself preside over meeting of
the council and presumably set its agenda.

It was expected that eventually at least half of this
advisory council would be elected. However, in 1938, a new
provincial council act, entirely separate from the municipal-
ity legislation, provided for the councils to be fully
elected. Thus, whereas the municipal councils were being
curtailed in power, the provincial councils were being en-
hanced. Their new functions were to include consultation
with the governor, endorsement of the provincial budget sub-
mitted by the governor, and advisement to the central govern-
ment upon request. However, virtually no provision was made
for its ability to have separate tax revenues, so that the
provincial government was fully dependent on central govern-
ment appropriations. As a result the council never had real
political power, or performed any real function of local
self-government, nor exercised administrative or legislative
power. The public was disinterested with the election of
the council members and after 1943 provincial elections were

discontinued.

33

The Administration of the Kingdom Act of 1952
restored the governor to full authority in provincial
affairs, with the right to control all executive officials
and with full responsibility for the administration of the
government work of all ministries and departments in the
province. The council was to serve instead as an advisory
body to the governor, the chief officials of different
departments were to assist him in the administration of
work in their respective departments.

The 1952 Act recognized the province as a juristic
person. It thus acquired the right to own property and set
up its own budget apart from the property and budget of
the central government. By 1955, it was apparent that the dual
status of the province as a unit of field administration and
also a juristic person, created a concomitant dual role for
the governor. Though a subordinate field official in one
role, he became the head of a sub-state in a second role.
The result of these developments between 1952-55, has been
to place the governor once more in the driver‘s seat. But
it should not be imagined that the specialist officers
accepted this reversal without protest. The maintenance of
gubernatorial control against persistent efforts by the
functionally specialized departments of different ministries
to reverse the balance remains a focus of intrabureaucratic
politics in provincial government.

Although the governors were in firm control of the

provincial councils, it cannot be said that they could

34
autocratically exercise authority without any feedback from
technical officials who were directly responsible and
answerable for the performance of their work to their
superiors in the central government in Bangkok. Also the
trend toward increasing specialization for services and
better education all around for technical personnel placed
the governor in fact, if not in law, more and more in the
position of a general manager concerned with general super-
vision and control, and strengthened the independence of
the technical personnel, particularly in such strong
agencies as education and public health.

The Provincial Administration Act of 1955 provided'
for the strengthening of the role of the councils, but it
also gave the governor a sharp weapon for keeping them under
control, half of the members were to be appointed and half
to be elected. The pattern adopted in 1932 for the National
Assembly and for municipal councils in 1953, was now ex-
tended to the provincial councils. By 1956 the governors
must have gained confidence in their ability to get along
with the elected councilmen, for at their national conference,
they adopted a resolution that all councils be elected.
Shortly thereafter the law was amended to provide that
provincial councils should consist of at least twenty-four
members elected for five years. Municipal councils were
also to be all elected.

The governors had learned that they could indeed,

control the councils. Decisions of the assemblies were

35
classified into "bylaws" and "other actions". The governor
could cancel any of the "other actions" which he considered
contrary to national laws, rules or other regulations as
beyond the scope of the assembly's proper function of
political jurisdiction. In regard to the "bylaws", the
governor could also reject any act of his assembly, but he
had to submit it to the Ministry of Interior for review.
In effect, the Ministry of Interior and its agent, the
governor, asserted full authority to veto, without appeal,
all acts of the provincial councils.

2. District Government

 

District governments are direct extensions of the
provincial governments. (See page 18 for the administrative
organization). Each district is under the general charge
of a district officer "nai amphur", who is appointed by the
Ministry of Interior and is directly responsible to the
governor of the province. Large districts may be divided
into two or more subdistricts, each under the supervision of
an assistant district officer. Most district officers are
graduates of the University of Political and Moral Science
(Themmasat University) and they are frequently transferred
from one post to another. The average tenure of a district
officer is about four years.

The duties of the district officer are more varied
and extensive than those of any other government official.

He is the chief administrative officer and chief magistrate

36

of his district. He sees to it that the laws and policies
of the central government are executed within his juris-
diction. He supervises the collection of taxes; issues
certificates of birth, marriage, divorce and death and
registers school children, and aliens. He records all
deeds and wills, arbitrates land disputes, and administers
local elections. Each district office has a small staff of
civil servants representing some of the ministries of the
central government.

The district officer convenes monthly meeting of
the headmen of the communes and villages in his district
to inform them of government policies and to instruct them
on the implementation of those policies. Meetings are con-
ducted in a formal manner, with little give-and-take be-
tween the district officer and headmen. Although the head-
mename permitted to ask questions and volunteer information,
they rarely do. This unilateral exchange of information
tends to result in the neglect of basic village and commune
problems and stifle initiative on the part of the headmen.

The district agencies are the crucial elements in
the governmental structure of Thailand. It is here where a
majority of the government policies reach the people,
especially in the rural area. Also, the district agencies
are the initial governmental units where the needs and
aspirations of the local people could be expressed. In the

process of development planning, the district office serves

37
as a vital focus where policies are transformed into imple-
mentation, and feedback from the commune and village levels
of government could be used to eliminate wasted efforts as
well as to formulate creative and realistic policies. Real-
izing the importance of the district officers in the intro-
duction of social and economic innovations at the commune
and village level, the Ministry of Interior has instituted
a training course for them in techniques of community
development, and in such sophisticated subjects as human
relations, national security, the organization of civil
defense and the responsibility of leadership.

3. Commune Government

 

Each commune "tambon" is headed by an official
called the "kamnan", a village headman himself who is chosen
by the other headmen of the villages making up the commune
and is confirmed in office by the provincial governor. The
duties of the kamnan are few, but his prestige is consider-
able. He is in charge of recording vital statistics of
the commune, and he deals with problems of the village head-
men which do not warrant the attention of the district
officers. Village headmen report to the kamnan before
their monthly meeting with the district officers. In
general, the kamnan serves as an intermediary between the
district officer and village headmen.

The kamnan is not a civil service official. The

central government pays him a monthly stipend of 120 baht

38
(U.S. $5.70). He also receives a small commission for
measuring land and keeping records. The kamnan has a small
staff and is also assisted by a commune council, which is
composed of other officials of the commune - the resident
doctor, the irrigation headmen, agricultural headmen and
one or two retired village headmen.4
4. Village Government

For administrative purposes the central government
defines a village as consisting of at least five households,
and there are approximately 50,000 villages in Thailand.
Each village has a headman or "pu yai ban" literally meaning
"big man of the village".

Now, as throughout most of Thailand's history,
village headmen are chosen by popular election. Every resi-
dent 21 years of age or 18 if married, may vote. The term
of office is formally fixed at 5 years, but in most of rural
Thailand, headmen tend to remain in office until they die
or resign. The government requires that candidates be 21
and able to read and write; however, village mores impose
other requirements. The candidates should be married and
at least of middle age. He should have served in the Buddhist

monkhood and have good moral character.5

 

4George L. Harris et a1. Area Handbook for Thailand,
1966, pp. 319-322.

5George L. Harris, et a1. Area Handbook for Thailand,
1966, pp. 319-322.

 

39

It could be said that village government is the
most democratic form of government in Thailand but is becom-
ing less so due to encroachment of the central government
The central government, by taking upon itself more res-
ponsibility in the suppression of provincial crime and by
developing the means of communication, is altering the
character of the kamnan's and pu yai ban's positions and
affecting village organization, which has been left quite

untouched in the past.6

The office of headman appears to be
declining in importance. Expansion of the power of the
central government has tended to make him little more than
an appendage of the district officer.

5. Municipal Government

 

A law authorizing the creation of municipal govern-
ment was promulgated by the National Assembly in 1933.
Under this law, cities (nakorn) with a population of more
than 30,000 persons were to enjoy full municipal government.
Towns (muang) which comprise the capitals of provincial
governments and towns where the population exceeds 10,000
and have an average density of not less than 3,000 people per
square kilometer, were given a more limited form of town

government. Communes (tambon) were to have even more limited

 

6Virginia Thompson. Thailand, the New Siam, 1967,
pp. 233-251.

 

40
power, and only if so authorized by the Ministry of
Interior. In 1972, Bangkok and Thon Buri were combined
and given a legal autonomous state of Metropolitan Area
of Greater Bangkok. Chiang Mai is the only city municipal-
ity. There are 82 towns and 33 communes with municipal
self-governments.7

The system of municipal government created in 1933
did not work well, although it clearly represented a
genuine effort to delegate real power to representative
bodies. The difficulties experienced at the time had been
attributed to the unwillingness or inability of the govern-
ment to provide the needed support and positive assistance.
It appeared that the central government was disinclined to
give adequate financial support to the council or to imple-
ment fully the democratic provisions of the act.

The concept of municipal government in the Provincial
Constitution, reflected that of the central government. The
procedures for holding meetings, questioning, debate, and
even the vote of confidence were identical. The governor
of the province was to name the mayor, who would choose his
executive committee, subject to endorsement by the elected
councils, just as the king appointed the prime minister and

the Supreme Council subject to Assembly approval. In

 

7The National Economic Develo ment Board, The Second
ECOnomic and SOCial Development Plan 967-1971, 1969,
pp. 95-121.

41

practice, however, a major difference developed. The
appointive powers of the king became purely ceremonial;
the appointive power of the governor remained quite real.

Nevertheless, despite its limitations, this early
period of municipal self-government was a period of ex-
perimentation. The law did give the elected municipal
councils some real authority, which they were eager to use.
For example, by rejecting the annual budget or a major
ordinance, a council could compel the mayor and his execu-
tive committee to resign. It is apparent that just as
members of the National Assembly expected that they would
be able to exercise real influence over the government, so
the elected municipal councillors thought that they would
be able to control the city administration.
a. Finance

Popular control over government required construc-
tive elements which were.scarcely present in the Thai
society at that time. Local economic-resources were in-
adequate, and the tax base authorized for municipal govern-
ments quite limited. The Ministry of Interior had the
right to supervise municipal finances and was unable or un-
willing to provide needed financial supports. Without a
base for experience with political bargaining and organiza-
tion of private interest groups and without a strong
existing commercial and professional middle class, the

municipal assemblies were greatly handicapped in exercising

42

their new responsibilities.
b. Assembly

Although, the larger municipalities such as Bangkok
and Thon Buri were better acquainted with the concept of
municipal government, this first experience of municipal
government resulted in inefficiency, corruption, conflict
of interests and general confusion. Assemblymen bickered
over small matters or plotted against the mayor, assembly
meetings were often boycotted or broken up by incessant
wranglings. Mayors came and went withgreat frequency;
some were ousted by their assemblies, others had to leave
on charges of incompetence or corruption. Councillors
were often incompetent and administrative services were
overstaffed and poorly run. Corruption pervaded the entire
system. The central government sometimes intervened with a
heavy hand; the Ministry of Interior often times dissolved
the mayors and committees without formality of preferring
charges.8

Lacking real power to control the municipal
administration, municipal councillors clearly became
demoralized, and the public increasingly indifferent. Only
a small percentage of the eligible voters took the trouble

to participate in municipal elections. The central

 

8Wendell Blanchard et a1. Thailand,_lts People,
Its SocietyJ‘Its culture, 1957, p. 191.

 

43

government, disillusioned with the failure of local municipal
government, or perhaps reinforced in their conviction that
it could not work, began to intervene more and more to bring
order out of the confusion.

In 1938, the municipal law was amended to require
that members of municipal executive committee be chosen
from among members of the elected council. The right of the
council to adopt votes of no confidence was also withdrawn.
Thus, the authority of the assembly as a legislative body
to impose their will upon the executive officials was cur-
tailed. The Ministry of Interior sought to justify these
changes by stating that they would assure cooperative effort
between the municipal councils and the executive officials
thus reSulting in an efficient administrative procedure.
The changes enhanced the ability of the central bureaucracy
to strengthen its controls over the elected municipal
councils. Thus the ability of the electorate to impose
accountability upon the executive officials was limited.

Nevertheless, throughout the pre-WOrld War 11
period, the elected municipal councils did have some independ-
ence and they often struggled valiantly, if chaotically,
for a real voice in the conduct of public affairs. However,
the state bureaucracy and the municipal executive officials,
combining legal and institutional resources with personal

manipulation, were gradually able to subdue and render

44

powerless the municipal councils.

The overall significance of the changes introduced
by the 1938 Act and later actions could be summarized as
a shift in emphasis from "political education", to
"efficient administration". In other words, from being an
experiment in local self-government designed to impose
popular controls over public administrators and to stimulate
the growth of democratic political institutions, the
municipal government came to be seen as an inexpensive way
of extending the range of bureaucraticcontrol within the
local government.

c. Bureaucratic Control

 

Throughout the war and the first years thereafter,
conditions in municipal self government continued to
deteriorate. Finally, in January 1953, a municipal reform
act was adopted which brought urban government directly
under the administrative control of the central bureaucracy
through the provincial governors and district officers.

The elected city councils were to be continued, but their
powers were reduced to the vanishing point.

The mayors and their executive committees were to
be appointed bygovernors. The municipal councils could be
dissolved at any time by the provincial governors. More-
over, half of their members were to be appointed and only
half elected, following the example set by the Constitution

of 1932, in organizing the National Assembly. As poor

45

compensation for theSe losses, the municipalities were
promised new revenue sources and greater financial autonomy,
a promise that was never kept.9

By 1953, in other words, the effort which seemed
to have begun with such bold promise in 1932 to create, at
the local government level, effective centers of popular
political autonomy of self government capable of imposing
responsibility on administrative officials, had been
severely limited by the gradual control of the central
bureaucracy, under the Ministry of Interior. The Municipal
Reform.Act of 1953 gave formal sanction to the triumph of

the bureaucratic power of the provincial governors.

d. Local Government Finance

 

During the 1964-1966 period the total development
expenditures for all local administrative agencies was 1,488
million baht. Approximately 60% of local development
expenditures came from local revenue; the balance was made
up of central government subsidies and loans. It should be
noted that about 58% of these expenditures occurred in the
Greater Bangkok Metropolitan Area. However, Bangkok's

share has been declining from 61.6% in 1964 to 58.3% in 1966.

 

9Virginia Thompson, "Rural and Urban Self-Government
in South East Asia," in Rupert Emerson, Representative
Government in South EaSt Asia, 1955, p. 127.

 

46

As has been pointed out earlier, local administrative
agencies have only limited power to generate revenue. Most
of the urban centers in the outlying provinces do not have
substantial industrial or commercial and industrial develop-
ments to generate revenue for efficient operation of local
governments. Most industries and wholesale markets are
located in and around the Greater Bangkok Metropolitan
Area. Most transportation, commerce, and service businesses
are focused on Bangkok, the largest market, While the large
export sector is dependent upon Bangkok, the main port
facility.

The lack of regional development has created an un-
necessary burden, especially for the domestic consumption
market. Transport facilities are usually available to and
from Bangkok, but become extremely expensive and, at times,
inaccessible for a practical regional distribution system.
The creation of an efficient commercial market for domestic
consumption on a regional basis can be a realistic step in
providing a more efficient system of distribution of goods
and services. Such a market would stimulate industrial
and commercial development in different regions thus result-
ing in generating revenues for local administration.

e. Second Plan - Local Development Expenditures

During the SeCond Economic and Social Development

Plan the total estimated local development expenditure

amounted to 4,100 million baht, of which 1,800 million or

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48
Table 1
Local Administration Development Expenditures: 1964-1966

(millions of baht)

 

 

 

. Year
Local Agency 1964 1965 1966 Total
Municipalities 303.8 382.5 409.7 1,096.0
Sanitary Districts 38.7 45.2 48.2 132.1
Provincial Administration 61.7 70.2 110.4 242.3
County Administration 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Total 410.2 503.9 514.3 1,488.4

 

Source: The second economic-and social development plan
1967-1971, Office of the Prime Minister, p. 100.

Second Plan Local Administration DeVelopment

Expenditure Ratios for Bangkok - Thon Buri and Others

Tab

49
1e 11

 

 

 

 

Year Bangkok and Thon Buri Other Total
1967 58.6% 41.4% 100.0%
1968 59.2 40.8 100.0
1969 57.7 42.3 100.0
1970 57.3 42.7 100.0
1971 56.8 43.2 100.0
1967-1971 57.9% 42.1% 100.0%
Source: The second economic and social development plan

1967-1971, Office of the Prime Minister, p. 103.

50
Table

III

Sources of Local Development Financing During the Second

 

'Pl

an

(Millions of baht)

 

 

 

 

Source Year 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Total
National Budget 280.0 335.0 365.0 395.0 425.0 1,800.
Bangkok - Thon Buri 117.0 132.0 143.0 155.0 168.0 715.
Others 163.0 178.0 197.0 215.0 232.0 985.
Reserves for new
projects - 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 100.
Local Revenue Sources 320.0 380.0 450.0 530.0 620.0 2,300.
Bangkok - Thon Buri 235.0 276.0 313.0 360.0 411.0 1,595.
Others 85.0 104.0 137.0 170.0 209.0 705.
Total 600.0 715.0 815.0 925 0 1045.0 4100.
Summary
Bangkok - Thon Buri 352.0 408.0 456.0 515.0 519.0 2,310.
Others 248.0 282.0 334.0 385.0 441.0 1,690.
Reserves for new
projects - 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 100.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: The second economic and social
1967-1971, Office of the Prime

development plan
Minister, p. 102.

51

44% came from national government subsidies. It was ex-
pected that the total development expenditures would in-
crease at a rate of 14% per annumn

The past allocation of development expenditures
revealed that the amount expended in the Greater Bangkok
Metropolitan Area was declining, compared to the amount
spent in other areas. This is due to the national govern-
ment's effort to decentralize economic advantages.
Expenditures for Bangkok during the past two plans in-
creased slightly due to urgent community improvement needs,
especially road construction and garbage disposal.

During the Second Plan period, expenditures on
communication and transportation were the most significant.
However, when the bulk of road construction and maintenance
were completed, expenditures in this category declined and
other improvement activities gained in significance; e.g.
community improvement, sanitation, and waste disposal.

As the local administrative agencies, especially
the municipalities, took on more of the burden of public
services, central government subsidies were required.
During the past five years, total municipal expenditures
increased at an average of 25% per annum, but revenue in-
creased at only 15% per annum. Consequently government
subsidies had to be increased 28% per annumu MOst municipal-
ities' revenue comes from taxation within the municipality.

However, since a large proportion of the population lives

52
Table IV

Distribution of Local Administration

 

Development Expenditure by Type of Activity during the

 

Second Plan 1967—1971

 

 

 

 

Type of Activity Percentage Distribution
Communication & Transportation 50.0%
Health 8.0
Education 5.0
Sanitation 9.5

Community Improvement, Recreation,

and Fire Prevention 17.5
Vocational Promotion 6.0
Commerce 2.5
waterworks & Power _l;§

Total 100.0%

 

Source: The second economic and social development plan,
1967-1971, p. 103.

53

in rural areas and come in to use the public serviceS'and
facilities provided by the urban centers, these services
have to serve large portions of the people who do not pay
any direct taxation to support such services.

The government had recommended that the tax base of
the municipalities be broadened and that the municipalities
be given more power in tax collection. Also recommended
was that taxes be directed upon individuals who benefit
from public services and facilities.

At present, it is still difficult to say where the
increase of revenue should come from. There is a definite
need for further study and research to determine the nature
of the problems of urban public finance, budgeting and

expenditure.

CHAPTER III
GOVERNMENT PLANNING ACTIVITIES

A. National Planning

The promotion of the rudimentary ideas of central
planning in 1950 was prompted by nationalist motives. The
post World War II regime led by Prime Minister Phibun
wanted to regain control of the business life which had
fallen into Chinese and other foreign hands. In order to
gain United Nation support it was felt that detailed
national planning was essential. The National Economics
Council was established by an act passed in 1949. The
council was intended as a technical advisory body with the
duty of researching and advising government on economic
questions. The aim was to bring together people with ex-
pertise on various aspects of the economy to constitute a
special advisory committee.

The council was organized into five different boards.
The act did not give it a professional secretariat, but
there was a rudimentary departmental structure upon which
it was possible to build. Apart from the central office,
there were three small divisions, a division of experts and

analysts, a division of statistical compilation and a

54

55

division of statistical analysis. There was only one small
section provided for research and plainly nothing more was
intended than examining existing records. The Statistical
Compilation Division however, was more promising, having
sections concerned with national resources and agriculture,
transportation and industry, finance and trade, and social
and public works. Before these statistics had been
collected in particular departments there was no respons-
ibility for coordination. Much more coordination was needed,
but this division represented a starting point.

Early in 1951 an agreement was signed with the
United States, and several programs of aid were suggested.
If the Thai government was to retain control it was neces-
sary that it undertake the coordination of these different
programs. A committee,closely associated with the National
Economic Council was, therefore, created and called the
Thai Technical and Economic Coordination Committee (TTEC).
Coordinating activities included bringing in foreign experts
and sending young Thais for specialized training abroad,
introducing several changes and innovations in the organiza-
tional structure of the government, and in economic planning
over the next ten years.

Another step in the direction of national planning
was the establishment of the National Income Division of
the NBC. The first national income estimates ever made for

Thailand were presented to the NEC by an American financial

56
advisor, Joseph S. Gould in 1952. Gould's report not only
established several methods and procedures, but resulted
in the establishment of a permanent National Income Research
Division of the NEC in 1954.

The World Bank Mission arrived in Thailand in July
1957, and after a year of field work, submitted a compre-
hensive report on national economic planning in Thailand.
One of the most important policy recommendations made by
the Bank Mission was the establishment of a central planning
agency to make a continuing study of the nation's economy
and draw up plans for its development. It was to be
directed by a National Development Board composed of a few
ministers seriously concerned about the problems of economic
growth and chaired by the Prime Minister. The Bank Mission
also suggested that a professional Secretariat be established
to act as the technical arm of the National Development
Board.

In October 1958, shortly after the change in govern—
ment, some of the recommendations of the Bank Mission were
implemented. The National Economic Development Board (NEDB),
charged with the functions of a central planning agency,
was created in July 1959. Briefly, the NEDB operates at
three levels. At the top level is the Board comprised of
the Prime Minister, two Deputy Prime Ministers, the

Secretary-General of the NEDB and other government and

57
non-government members appointed by the Council of Ministers.
In practice the Board seldom meets, and so its functions are
delegated to the nine-member Executive Committee which in—
cludes the Secretary-General of the NEDB. The Executive
Committee meets regularly and has the authority to supervise
the work of the Planning Secretariat and a number of 'ad hoc'
and standing committees including the TTEC. Thus in reality
the Executive Committee, rather than the Board, actually
recommends the various plans, programs, projects, and
policies to the Council of Ministers for final approval.

The Central Statistical Office and the TTEC become
part of the NEDB as recommended by the Bank Mission. How-
ever, when the new Ministry of National Development was
created in 1963, the major departments and agencies concerned
with development plan implementation - such as those for
highways and irrigation, and utilities as well as the TTEC
were reorganized under this ministry. At the same tflme,
the Central Statistical Office also became a department
within the Prime Minister's Office, leaving the NEDB with
only the Office of Planning and National Income. The NEDB
super-structure, the Board and the Executive Committee,
nevertheless remained the same.

Development of the first Six-Year Plan included only
the resources and expenditures of the central government
supplemented by foreign grants and loans to the public

sector. Major production and financial targets were

58
established and government policies and deve10pment
activities were designed to implement those targets.
Significant progress was made during the first half of the
Six-Year Plan. The proposed five percent annual growth
rate in national income was achieved. Actual production
exceeded Plan targets, partly due to favorable weather and
world market conditions. Domestic and external stability
were maintained and the country's financial position was
greatly strengthened.

With a better understanding of the planning process
both within and outside the NEDB and with the availability
of more reliable data and more carefully prepared projects,
targets during the second phase of the Six-Year Plan (1964-
1966) were revised to 6 percent per annum rate of growth
in national income. Yet, the planning strategy continued
to promote economic activities in the private sector
through the maintenance of economic and financial stability
and the expansion of public development expenditures for
infrastructure facilities. The revised Plan also contains
a careful analysis of public sector resources and uses of
funds, as well as evaluation of the balance of payments
from the point of view of ensuring a high growth rate with-
out endangering domestic and external stability.

Despite these improvements, the Second and Third
National Economic and Social Development Plans (1966-1970,
1970-1975), still contain a number of imperfections. In

particular, attempts will be made to establish a more

59
effective system of progress reporting and performance
evaluation. Work will need to be done in the coordination
of manpower planning with economic planning, the widening
activities in the private sector, and the establishment of
functional relationships among policies, measures and
anticipated targets both for the individual sector and for
the economy as a whole with the targets of the latter being
expressed in terms of the increase in national production
and income, living standards and other significant indicators
of economic and social progress.

Defining Thailand's planning process is a difficult
task, impeded by a number of basic problems for which
there are no easy solutions. First of all, planning methods
and procedures involve novel concepts which have not been
adequately practiced by the Thai authorities and people.
Even if the planning ideas and methods were understood and
appreciated, the planning tools and agents, such as
statistical data, suitable institutions and trained adminis-
trators, are not sufficiently available in a relatively
underdeveloped country like Thailand.

Moreover, in Thailand there is a lack of a sense of
urgency in regard to planning, which can be attributed to
the generally satisfactory economic conditions prevailing
in the country. As a consequence, there is a failure to
recognize the immediate need for planning to cope with the

emerging problems that may become serious in the future.

60

In practice there is only a partial government commitment
to planning, and popular support and involvement in the
planning process is lacking.1

Robert J. Muscat cites centralization of govern-
mental control as one of the major problems in planning.

"An important factor has been the
great concentration of power in Bangkok.
Changwat, amphur and village government
personnel are closely supervised by the
central government, and except for the
lowest village officials,are all appointed
by Bangkok, in most matters they have
very little, if any, discretionary authority.
Between the lack of any real autonomy, and
the virtually complete dependence of all
local government levels on central govern-
ment finance, there is little sc0pe or
incentive for the development of local
initiative in economic or other matters.
In the absence of any other significant
organizations besides government capable
of generating group action, the extreme
centralization of the Thai government sys-
tem may be cutting off a potentially
vigorous institutional source of local
government."2

One of the basic problems is that Thailand‘s rate of
population growth has been increasing rapidly. Should the
current increase of over three percent per annum persist, it
is predicted that Thailand's population will number 50

million by 1980 as compared to its present population of

 

1Prayad Buranasiri and Snoh Unakul, "Obstacles to
Effective Planning Encountered in the Thai Planning Experi-

ence", The Phili ine Economic Journal, Number Eight,
Second Semester I365, VoI. IV, No. 2, 1965, pp. 327-334.

2Robert J. Muscat, Development Strategy in Thailand,
1966, pp. 279-280.

61

37 million. This rapid rate of growth and the accompanying
increase in the dependency ratio will aggravate the exist-
ing basic problems. While consumption, educational needs,
and employment opportunities must be expected to expand
rapidly, it will be increasingly difficult to raise adequate
savings to finance the required investment.

On the supply side, production of goods and services
in Thailand is handicapped by a low level of productivity
and an inefficient marketing and transportation system.
Consequently, yields are relatively low, production costs
are higher, and undue wastage is prevalent. The problem
of low productivity is aggravated by the period of prolonged
exploitation. Thus, there is an urgent need for the
government to expand and strengthen its program for improv-
ing productivity, particularly in the conservation and
rehabilitation of natural resources, the provision of infra-
structure, the support of research and extension services,
and the training of managerial and technical personnel.

Taking into consideration the basic economic problems
just cited, it is clear that even to maintain the relatively
high per capita income growth rate of the past, Thailand will
have to increase the efficiency of capital use, intensify
its effort to mobilize resources and strengthen the judicious
allocation of investment resources. In view of the critical
political situation in Southeast Asia, national development

planning should be an important factor in fostering national

62

security through economic and social progress of the popula-
tion as a whole.

In spite of the planning problems just reviewed,
the National Economic Development Board has been able to
accomplish significant results. The planning efforts have
helped to inculcate a planning outlook among the government
officials most closely responsible for the formulation and
implementation of the development programs. In particular,
this inculcation has gradually induced a tendency toward
more interdepartmental coordination. The very existence
of the Plan has served to increase both public and official
awareness of the national economic problem and Thailand's
potential for economic development. The NEDB's screening
procedure has successfully eliminated a number of dubious
projects which were economically unjustifiable.3

Lastly, it is obvious that without both private
participation and a strong and enlightened political
leadership wholeheartedly committed to its course, develop-
ment planning cannot become a truly viable and effective
process. Planning authorities require a clear sense of
direction and an organized, disciplined approach if they are

to solve development problems and maximize economic benefits.

 

3Prayad Buranasisi and Snah Unabul, "Obstacles to
Effective Planning Encountered in the Thai Planning Experi-

ence", The Philli ine Economic Journal, Number Eight,
Second Semester I885, VoI. IV, No. 2, I965, pp. 333-340.

63

B. Regional Development

Northern Region Development Policy: The major part
of the northern Region is highland and dense forest. Agri—
cultural land is scarce and because of the rapid expansion
of population growth, only 9.6 rai (2.5 rai equals one acre)
per family is now available. The Northern Region Develop—
ment Policy will attempt to increase agricultural production
in order to provide a sufficient standard of living, promote
maximum.use of available natural resources, and develop
remote areas such as those settled by the hill tribes.

Northeastern Region Development Policy: The North-
east is the largest but poorest region of the country. Its
population comprises nearly one-third of the whole nation,
but the average per capita income is only one-half of the
national average. The majority of the people engage in
subsistence farming. The aim of the Northeastern Development
Policy, therefore, is to raise the standard of living as
quickly as possible through various development programs.
Scarce natural resources and inferior topographic conditions
necessitate such projects as potable water supply, communica-
tions and power. Furthermore, subversive activities and
infiltration in this part of the country make the policy for
Northeastern Development a matter of top priority.

Southern Region Deve10pment: The topographic and
economic conditions of this area, especially the Southern

border provinces, differ considerably from those of other

64

 

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65
regions. Even though this area was formerly neglected, the
government is presently attempting to develop the south
along with the other regions. The policy for this region
stresses social development, particularly education. On
the econOmic side, programs are being set up for highway
improvement, self-help communities, and replacement of
present rubber trees with new high yielding varieties.
Further, fishing and mining will be encouraged, and programs
for improvement and construction of deep seaports are under-
way.

Eastern Region Development Policy: Another area of
importance to the national economic system is the eastern
region, which can be extensively developed, especially in
coastal commerce and industry. In the northern border area
bwhere poverty and hardship still persist, the policy will
emphasize improvements in communication.

Western Region Development Policy: This area is
plentiful in natural resources such as land, forests, and
water. Therefore, the policy objective is for the more
effective use of these natural resources, especially water
resources to encourage further agricultural activities.
Region Development Budget

The financial support of the Regional Committee pro-
gram is not limited to the budget of the Regional Committees
but is also based on central government allocations in such

fields as construction of road, establishment of universities

66

Table V

Second Plan Regional and Local Development Budget Summary

(millions of baht)

 

 

 

Type of Budget Year 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Total

Regional Deve10pment

Fund 70 75 75 85 95 400

Government Subsidies

for Local Administration

Development 280 335 365 395 425 1,800

Accelerated Rural

Development Fund 150 150 200 250 250 1,000

Remote Area Development

Fund 35 40 45 50 50 220

Specific Area Develop-

ment Fund 10 10 20 20 20 80
Total 545 610 705 800 840 3,500

 

Source: The second national economic and social development
Plan 1967—1971, Office of the Prime Minister, p. 110.

67

and other infrastructures. During the Second Plan period,

a budget of 400 million baht for regional development pro-
jects will be included in the central budget, but the main
portion of regional development expenditures will be

financed through the different local administrative agencies.
Projects which are regional in nature, but which are financed
through the central government budget, must benefit not only
the provinces of that region but also contiguous provinces

as well.

C. Urban Development and Planning
In 1957 the Municipality of Bangkok with the assist-
ance of the USOM Office, engaged the expert service of a
planning company, Litchfield Whiting Bowne and Associates,
to lay down future plans for the Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
The result of three and one half years of investigation and
planning was the Greater Bangkok Metropolitan Plan 1990.

1. Objectives

 

The Plan examined land use, governmental organization,
and policies necessary for future government administration
and implementation. The consultants also recommended the
creation of a governmental agency for urban and regional
planning, with the following objectives:

1. That the agency be a central agency whose

policy should be for all ministries in

development of the country.

68
That close coordination of the agency with
the National Economic Development Board
and the Office of the National Budget, is
an essential ingredient in the success of
the long term plans as well as the annual
budget.
That such agency be created under the Office

of the Prime Minister.

2. Functions

 

In 1962, after a year of experimental work, the Thai

Government, under the Reorganization of Ministries and

Departments Act, October 1, 1962, created the Department of

Town and Country Planning, a civil organization under the

Ministry of Interior. The department is charged with the

following functions:

a.

To prepare the regional and physical planning
program as a part of the National Social and
Economic Development Plan.

To prepare the regional plans and the master
plan of the cities throughout the country con-
sistant with national policy and approve the
master plans submitted by the provinces.

To prepare the special project plans requested
by governmental agencies, to approve the pro-
jects planned by other units, and to ratify the

alteration of the municipal boundaries.

69

d. To plan and develop the city according to

the approved master plan and special project

plans.
e. To amend the regional plan and the master plan.
f. To follow up, evaluate and solve the problems

of implementation.
g. To give advice on city planning to the govern-
mental units.A

Since only five of the nine asked for divisions of
the Department of Town and Country Planning have been
approved, the department could not implement work covering
the entire country. The resulting work leaves much to be
desired in quality, quantit-, and scheduling of planning
programs. The department was severely limited in meeting
the first objective. Therefore, after being established
for one year, the department has been rearranged by adding
3 more internal divisions. Another informal division, the
Regional Planning Division, was set up on the lst of October
1970. To cover all physical planning activities, the
department now consists of the following nine divisions:
1. The Office of the Secretary, and correspondence

and finance.

 

4Department of Town and Country Planning, Ministry
of Interior. History, Function and Future Programs, 1971,

p. 7.

70

2. Research and Analysis

3. Engineering

4. Comprehensive Planning

5. Programming

6. Mapping (internal)
7. Project Planning (internal)
8. Planning Control (internal)
9. Regional Planning (internal)

3. WOrk Accomplished

 

The department has already prepared 35 comprehensive
plans for the provincial administrative seats and urban
areas throughout the country and has revised the 1960 Greater

Bangkok Metropolitan Plan 1990, Approximately six compre-

 

hensive plans are being completed a year.

There are 607 project plans of specific urban prob-
lems prepared for new construction. Thirty-nine projects
are for new construction in fire-damaged areas. The Project
Plan Division also works closely with the Department of
Community Development in preparing community development
centers.

Base maps of 200 towns or parts of towns for planning
preparation have been prepared. In addition, 250 maps, in-
cluding maps attached to Royal Decrees, have been completed
which show municipality boundaries and sanitary districts.

The enforcement of planning work includes inspection

and control of urban development to comply with the plans

71
prepared by the department. Approximately ten comprehen—
sive plans are inspected a year. The Planning Control
Division also inspects the project plans and the develop-
ment plans of fire-damaged areas.

Lastly the department has been involved in drafting
new planning legislation. The draft version was submitted
to the Cabinet in January of 1970 for approval and National
Assembly enactment. However, the proposed legislation was
rejected by the Assembly in 1972. At present planning is
based on the Town and Country Act 1952.5

Thus it has been approximately 11 years since the
government saw fit to create the Department of Town and

Country Planning, and to provide land use planning for urban

communities, according to the social and economic development

plans. In the past decade the department has been fulfilling

its duties in accordance with the above prescribed objec-

tives. However, the administrative capacity of the depart-

ment is severely limited in carrying out its work, especially

in view of the changing needs and aspirations of the society;

therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the administra-

tive ability and revise the objectives of the department,

in accordance with the long-range national social and

 

SDepartment of Town and Country Planning, Ministry
of Interior. History, Function and Future Programs, 1971,
pp. 16-21.

72
economic development plan. The needs could be summarized
as follows:
4. Planning Coordination

The social and economic development plan of each
nation depends upon the regional, urban and specific project
plans for definite directions and alternatives. Thus develop-
ment and investment will be in harmony with the nation's
natural resources, labor market, agricultural production,
and industrial production, as well as domestic and foreign
markets.

At present, according to the set objectives of the
Department of Town and Country Planning, it is not possible
to produce work of the desired quality and quantity and
also coordinate the work required by the National Economic
Development Board of the Office of the Prime Minister.
Therefore, the scope of the department should be expanded
to satisfy at least this requirement.

5. 00mprehensive Planning

The department should have the ability to achieve a
comprehensive land use plan for all urban areas in the
whole country. In preparing such a comprehensive land use
plan, it is necessary to plan for all communities; large
metropolitan areas such as Bangkok, as well as, small
communes and villages. It is hopeful that such a plan will
have a sound base and analytical details capable of being

used by different agencies, both public and private.

73
It should give creative alternatives, so as to bring
development benefit for the whole nation. Such a compre-
hensive plan will enable the high ranking decision-makers
to have analytical tools in preparing future planning
policies and programs. Such a plan would provide the
needed coordinating link among the policy makers , the
analyst, and the man in the field.

6. Advocacy Plannipg

 

There is a definite lack in the emphasis of advocacy
planning. The public and community decision about the
desired alternatives for their future growth should be an
important input in the planning process. Such input is
important in designing planning parameters and constraints.
It can also serve as an important feedback loop for the
improvement of policy formulation and implementation of the
plan.6
7. Planning Law

At present the Department of Town and Country
Planning is exercising its legal power through the Town and
Country Planning Act of 1952. The "1952 Act" gives a

general sketch of the possible activities a governmental

agency may pursue in creating an orderly urban environment.

 

6Department of Town and Country Planning, Ministry
of Interior. Administrative Restructure of the Department
of Town and Country Planning, 1972, pp. 11-13.

74‘

It should be kept in mind that the majority of the people
in Thailand live in rural communities and law makers
hesitated to vest any sizeable power to the urban sector.
Also the law was a forerunner of its kind. In practice,

it gives the governmental agency almost no police power,

or power of eminent domain. The few instances for which
the power of eminent domain is granted are cases of
national emergency, or areas destroyed by fire or flood and
officially declared "disaster areas".

Therefore, over the last eleven years, the Depart-
ment of Town and Country Planning has been operating on a
very lflmited basis, of an advisory capacity and as con-
sultant to other agencies. Needless to say it has no power
to enforce the implementation of its work. It depends
entirely on the local administrative agencies to carry out
its plans and proposals.

Within the last few years the department recognized
the need to improve its working ability. Correction of
limitations in the 1952 Act is one of the major improvements
on the agenda. By this time the department has passed the
"experimental stage" and if it is going to be constructive,
it must have the power to carry out the planning process in
its totality.

The second important aspect is that the country

needs a well defined law to guide an orderly development of

75
the urban settlements in the very near future. Thailand is

rapidly becoming urbanized. Urbanization has been
identified and closely correlated with the national socio—
economic development, planning, and growth. It is vital
that such a process of urbanization be guided in accordance
with the national objectives and aspirations.

The department, with the help of the Ministry of
Justice, has revised the present law. The new urban planning
act deals mainly with two aspects. One, the administrative
process of planning which defines who's who, for all parties
concerned, and two, the power of eminent domain. The act
refers to three existing laws: the General Power of
Eminent Domain Act, The Royal Highway Act (right of way
acquisition), and the Building Construction Regulation Act.

When presented to Congress in 1972, the proposed law
was unanimously defeated. The criticism.was that the eminent
domain vests too great a power in the government agency con-
cerned, and that the individual property rights are hampered.
'At the moment the solution to the problem seems to be to
structure a "gradual" law that would allow the power of
eminent domain as the department proves its competency in

exercising such power.

CHAPTER IV
URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Rapid urban growth is second to the rate of popula-
tion growth as a major changing force on the social,
economic and political structures of Thailand. Both popula-
tion and urban growth are highly related. Rapid urbanization
is probably a function of the high rate of population growth;
while rapid urban increase may be due to the heavy exodus
from rural areas burdened with excessive population growth.
Although Thailand is one of the least urbanized countries
in the world, like many of the developing countries it has
begun to experience rapid urban growth in this century. Yet,
documentation of the extent and character of urbanization
remains one of the major research challenges. Among the
countries in Asia, Thailand well illustrates the United
Nations Commission conclusion that, "the magnitude of the
problems of internal migration and urbanization in the ECAFE
region was not matched either by the quantity and quality of
the existing data on these phenomena or by the analyses

which have so far been undertaken."1

 

1U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and The Far East,
Report of the Expert working_Group on'Problems of Internal
Migration and Urbanization,ISA/Dem/EGIM/LQZZ (Conference held
in Bangkok,—Thailand, 24‘May-S June 1967), p. 71.

:7‘5

77

History has shown that in the developed countries,
rising levels of urbanization were closely associated with
social and economic progress in a wide range of areas.2
Whether urbanization operates as a causal factor in produc-
ing such improvements or whether it is merely a part of a
broader process of change remains for further investigation.
Because of the limited data available to test the
relationship between urbanization on the one hand and social
and economic development on the other, it is difficult to
presuppose what type of association would characterize
Thailand. The answer probably lies in the future work of
improving research and data collecting thereby making it
possible to obtain a clearer understanding of the effect of
urbanization on the social and economic structures of
Thailand. Mbreover, if urbanization is occurring at a con-
siderably faster rate than changes in the socio-economic
structure, over urbanization, might be one of the major

problems Thailand will have to face in the near future.

A. Over-Urbanization
The social and economic conditions occurring during
the urbanization process in developing countries differ

substantially from those experienced by the industrially

 

2Phillip N. Hauser and Leo F. Schnore, Editors,
The Study of Urbanization, 1967, pp. 1-47 and 519-554.

78
advanced countries during their major urban growth. The
19th century industrial revolution in Western Europe and
North America took place at a relatively moderate pace
synchronized by world-wide trade. Now, however, the great
migration into the capitals of Africa, Asia and Latin
America is most intensive and rapid in areas where natural
resources are undeveloped and where the economic and tech-
nological resources and human skills are inadequate. The
cities of developing countries have outpaced their develop-
ment.

In developing countries, rapid population increase
in both rural and urban areas, not technological innovations
and industrial growth, is mainly responsible for urbaniza-
tion. With both city and countryside overpopulated a high
level of unemployment and underemployment exists, produc-
tive capacity is low and great demands are placed on the
economic and political systems Various crises have to be
'met by the government. The achievement of national unity
and identity, a more equitable distribution of consumption

goods, and the creation of a wider infrastructure, all make {

heavy demands on a country's natural resources. 9
Much of the blame for urban problems in developing
countries is ascribed to rural-urban migration, supposedly
due mainly to the push from the countryside rather than to
the pull of the city. As people migrate to the cities,

they create an immense pressure on urban services. Lack of

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adequate facilities creates slums and squatter colonies,
and perpetuates traditional rural patterns of life and
complicates urban social and economic changes.3

These theories of over-urbanization in developing
countries have been prevalent for some time. However, more
recently, questions have been raised about their validity,
especially by the United Nations Interregional Seminar on
Development Policies and Planning in Relation to Urbaniza-
tion. Objection to the "over-urbanization" theory are
based on its generalization from Western experience, which
may very well prove to have been exceptional in the come
bined experience of the world. As for the suggestion that
urbanization in developing countries is due to push rather
than pull factors, actual observations has shown that the
interplay of factors is a more complex process. The United
Nations Seminar concluded that:‘

"To derive a theory from past develop-

ments and consider it fully applicable to

present and foreseeable conditions could lead

to fallacious conclusions. . . . Since at all

times cities have served as promoters of

necessary change, the growth of cities need 4
not be viewed as an entirely negative phenomenon."

 

3United Nations. Administrative Aspect of Urbaniza-
tion, (ST/TAO/M/Sl) 1970, pp. 4-8.

4United Nations. Report of the Interregional
Seminar On Develo ment Policies and Planninr in Relation to
UrBanizatiOn, (S ITAO/Ser.C/97) 1966, p. l .

 

81
B. Urbanization For Modernization

Urbanization can be viewed as the growth of urban
centers and urban population, but it can also be considered
as a process of modernization: a change from rural to
urban attitudes. Social and economic growth in urban areas
creates a perspective in which development is not just an
increase of capacities and production but an improvement of
the human condition and environment.

Urbanization has a key role to play in the achieve-
ment of goals in development. As urbanization increases,
it is accompanied by specialization and differentiation of
social structure and function. The complexity arising from
these processes generates a need for coordination. Hence,
by changing human organizational ability and providing the
conditions for concerted effort, urbanization increases the
capacity for functional cooperation in the pursuit of complex
goals.

The role of urbanization in the attainment of
developmental goals is already apparent in the increasingly
changing view of urban growth itself. Instead of looking
upon urbanization as a process of growth causing a number
of problems needing solution, another approach has recently
suggested that this process be influenced so as to bring
about development. The meaning of urbanization itself is
undergoing change. The concept of urbanization as a process

of urban growth is being replaced by urbanization as an

82
instrument of social change and development.5
C. Population Growth and Distribution

In 1970 most of the Thais lived in two major
population concentrations. First was the Central Region
stretching along the aluvial plain stretching almost three
hundred miles northward from Bangkok, narrowing from a
width of about one hundred miles in the south to fifty
miles in the north and becoming at the same time less
densely populated. The second major concentration was within
a 125 mile radius of the river basin around Roi—Et on the
Korat Plateau in the Northeast Region.

Minor population concentrations were along the
eastern coast of the southern peninsula around
Nakhornsrithamarat and Songkhla area and in the Chiangmai
area of the North Region. Most of the concentrations were
low land settlements along the flat plain of the river basin.
The only dense settlements which were higher than 650 feet
above the mean sea level were to be found in Chiangmai.
MOst densely settled areas had direct access to sources of
water. The Central Plain was the most fertile area, with
the annual flooding of the plain by the rivers which

carried rich natural fertilizer from the forest to the north.

 

5International Union of Local Authorities.
UrbanizatiOn in Deve10ping_Countries, 1968, p. 7.

83
1. Population Growth

The last half of the nineteenth century was of
decisive importance in the history of South—East Asia.
Colonial rule spread into the regionand at the same time
trade was becoming increasingly more global. Cheap shipp-
ing rates, and the new commercial markets attracted
Chinese from the coast of southern China to the countries
bordering the South China Sea. The Chinese went to these
countries to become, in an overwhelming number of cases,
not farmers but businessmen, tin miners, rubber planters;
in short they became entrepreneurs who filled the previously
lacking service sector. They caused an increase in food
demand, which resulted in the development of a large come
‘mercial rice market in the region.

The impetus to the population growth of Thailand
was brought about during King Mongkut's reign in 1851 to
1868. Many treaties were concluded with European powers,
notably the British, which substantially opened the country
to foreign trade and cultural influences, thereby
accelerating the impact of the Western socio-economic and
political institutions as well as technology on the country.

"The importance of these treaties can

scarcely be exaggerated, since they paved

the way for a flood of transformations

which followed. Sir John Bowring, who

negotiated the treaty with King MOngkut,

writing that its provisions involved a total

revolution in all the financial machinery

of the governments. The basic provision of

the treaty was an agreement to permit free
trade by private merchants, subject only to

84

an import duty ad valorem on imports. Thus

the system of royal monopolies and the

special privilege on many of the highest

officials and nobles were gradually replaced

by private merchants." 6

This meant that the government would have to devise
a new financial system to obtain its revenue, thereby
necessitating a basic change in the system of taxation and
financial administration. By encouraging rice production
and export, not only the demands of foreign merchants were
‘met, but at the same time taxation on exports more than
helped to augment the revenues. Rural Thais proved remark-
ably responsive to the new demand and subsistence farmers
began to produce food surplussed for the cash.market. The
increase in rice production was realized by extending the
cultivation of paddy land and intensifying labor in the
Central Plain above Bangkok. Beginning in the 1950‘s the
highway system supplemented the railways and the rivers.
2. Urban-Rural Population

In 1960 only 12.5% of the Thai population lived
in urban areas in contrast to just over 20% of the population
in all the developing regions of the world. Although the

projected total level remains low, Thailand's urban growth

rate is high, averaging about 5% per year, which is above

 

6Riggs, F. W. Thailand, The Modernization of the
Bureaucratic Polity, 1966, p. 19.

 

85

the rest of the world's developing regions. Yet, because
the rural growth rate is also considerably higher than
that of the rest of the world, the speed of urbanization
seems to be less marked in Thailand than elsewhere. How—
ever, the increasing rate of rural-urban migration should
not be overlooked in the accelerating rate of urbanization.
3. Level and Rate of Urbanization by Municipal Area

When using the Municipal Area as the equivalent of
an urban place and population, the level of urbanization
in Thailand increaSed from 9.9% in 1947 to 12.5% in the
census count of April 1960. Between 1947-1960, the urban
population grew at an average annual rate of 5.0% compared
to the rural population which grew by 3.0% each year.
According to the registry accounting, urban residents in
1960 constituted 13.1% and this level had risen by 1967 to
14.4%.

Changing levels of urbanization can also be
assessed by comparing the number of places of given size
and the distribution of population among them. Of the 119
places designated as Municipal Areas in 1947, almost three-
fourths had fewer than 10,000 persons, and 95% were under
20,000. Based municipal size, urbanization, with the
notable exception of Greater Bangkok, was at a very low
level. By 1960 the picture had changed considerably; of

the 119 designated Municipal Areas, just under half had

86<
Table‘VI

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF URBAN PLACES & URBAN POP.
'BY SIZE & PLACES

(1947, 1960, 1967)

 

 

Size of Distribution of Urban Distribution of
Places Places Urban Population
(Pop. in
1000‘s) '
1947* 1960 1967' I947 1960 1967
(Total)
Pop.
Total Urban
Places 116.0 119.0 119.0 1734000 3378000 4673000
Percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1000.0 & over - 0.8 0 8 - 53.2 55 9
750.0-999.9 0.9 - - 45.1 - - -
75.0- 99.9 - - 0.8 - 1.8
50.0 74.9 - 0.8 0.8 - 2.0 1.6
40.0- 49.9 0.8 5.1 1.3 5.7
30.0- 39.9 0.9 6.7 10.1 2.2 7.0 8.9
20.0- 29.9 3.5 9.3 12.2 5.1 7.9 7.4
15.0- 19.9 6.0 11.8 11.8 7.1 7.1 5.0
10.0- 14.9 17.2 22.7 22.7 13.7 9.6 7.3
5.0- 9.9 40.5 37.0 29.4 19.7 9.6 5.8
Under 5.0 31.0 10.1 5.9 7.7 1.4 0.6

Source: Sédney Goldstein, Urbanization in Thailand, Bangkok,
1 72, p. 9.

 

87
Table VI Continued

PLACES IN THE SAME SIZE OR SHIFTING TO HIGHER SIZE CLASS,
(+1=UP ONE SIZE CLASS, +2=UP 2 OR MORE SIZE CLASS)

 

 

1947-1960 1960-1967
Same +1 +2 Same +1 +2
Number of Total Urban
Places .37 .53 .26 .60 .54 .50
1,000 & over - - - - - -
750.0-999.9 0 1 0 1 O 0
75.0- 99.0 - - -
50.0- 74.9 0 l 0
40.0- 49.9 0 1 0
30.0- 39.9 0 0 l 2 6 0
20.0- 29.9 2 1 1 3 8 0
15.0- 19.9 0 2 5 2 10 12
10.0- 14.9 4 9 7 15 11 l
5.0- 9.9 20 20 7 30 12 2
Under 5.0 11 20 5 7 5 0

Source: Sidney Goldstein, Urbanization in Thailand, Bangkok,
1972, p. 4.

 

TABLE VII

COMPARATIVE DATA ON PERCENT URBAN & CHANGE IN URBAN-RURAL
POPULATION 1960-1985 IN DEVELOPED & DEVELOPING REGIONS OF THE

 

WORLD
Year Developed Regions Percent Urban Thailand
Developing Regions
1960 59.6% 22.9% 12.5%
1970 65.7 28.9 14.5
1985 73.9 39.0 18.9
(1960-1985's Percent Change (increase—decrease)
Rural -15.7% 52.7% 102.7%
Urban 63.0 204.3 231.4
Annual Average

Rural -0.7% 1.7% 2.9%
Urban 2.0 4.6 4.9

Source: Population Division of the United Nations, "Urban and
Rural Population Individual Countries 1950-1985 and
Regions and Major Areas 1950~2000." ESA/P/WPz33/REV/

Sept.22, 1970, tables A & B.

88
fewer than 10,000 people and only 80% were under 20,000.
By 1967 the number of places with under 10,000 persons was
reduced to just over one-third, the number with 10-20,000
inhabitants remained constant at one-third, but the number
with 20-50,000 population increased from 4.4% in 1947 to
27.8% in 1967.

D. Census and Registration

Many attempts have been made to estimate the popula-
tion of nineteenth century Thailand and there is a general
agreement that the population inside what is now Thailand
probably rose from 4 million inhabitants to somewhere in
the vicinity of 6 million during the two centuries preceed-
ing 1900. The series of censuses which began in 1911 has
shown that there was a slow but accelerating pattern of
population growth at least throughout the whole of the nine-
teenth century. The rate of population growth has been of
the same magnitude as that experienced by the Philippines
and Burma and not the startling demographic change which took
Indonesia from 4 million in 1800 to 28 million in 1900 and
over 100 million in 1968.7

 

7J. C. Caldwell. "The Demographic Structure,"
Thailand, Social and Economic Studies in Development, ed.,
T. S. Silcock (Canberra 1967), pp. 27-28.

89

A comparison of the two tables from the Census and
the Adjusted Census Count shows that while the censuses
have always given a reasonable impression of the general
magnitude of the population, the varying degree has pro-
duced a completely erroneous impression of the rate of
population growth. Actually, the population seems to have
grown at a constant high rate, averaging 2% per year for at
least a generation prior to the World War II and over 3%
per year since then. Thus, the size of the population has
not changed suddenly from a nearly stationary position.

Two distinct periods of population growth are identi-
fiable. Between 1850-1947 Thailand demonstrated the ability
to increase her food production and created a surplus of
rice for export, experienced the reforms of the socio-
economic institutions and the direct impact of the Western
political, social and economic ideology, and witnessed the
high fertility rate of the population. In the period be-
tween 1947-60 modern medical technology decreased the
‘mortality rate and led to a much steeper rate of population
increase. . V

Under the Registration Act of 1909, all Thai's
are required to register with the local district officers
all births, deaths, and changes of permanent address. In
the past, the registry system has been one of the weakest
systems for recording demographic phenomena. World War 11

set back the registry system markedly and by 1955 it had

90

TABLE VIII
NUMBER OF POPULATION AND PERCENT IN AGRI HOUSEHOLDS:

Whole Total Population % of
Kingdom Population Male Female Residing in Total
Agri House-
holds

26,257,916 13,154,149 13,103,767 19,589,705 74.6
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS AND PERCENT OF IN AGRI HOUSEHOLDS:

Whole Total Agri % of Area in Population
Kingdom Households House- Total Sq Km Per Sq K
holds Household
4,616,654 3,410,309 79.3 514,000 51
Area in Population
Sq Miles Per Sq M
228,444 114

*(Stat.Year Book of Thailand, 1967-68, Nat. Stat. Off. Prime
Minister, pp. 42-45).

TABLE IX
THAILAND, ADJUSTED CENSUS & POPULATION GROWTH RATES 1919-1960:
Census Pop(1000) Average Annual Rate of Population Growth

 

Date Since Previous Estimate
(Adjustments by Bourgeois- (Adjustments by Das Gupta
Pichat) & Colleagues)_
1919 9,966*
1929 12,433* 2.0
1937 14,549* 2.0
1947 17,657* 2.0 17,890 2.1
1960 27,170 3.2

 

5‘:The only adjustments made were to popuIation under 10 years of
age.

Sources: Bour eois Pichat J. 1959. "An attempt to appraise
the Accuracy 0 Demographic Statistics for an Underdeveloped
Country, Thailand," Paper presented to the U.N. Seminar on
Evaluation and Utilization of Population Census Data, Santiago.
Das Gupta, A. & Sen. Gupta, S., 1965. "Population Projection
for Thailand, & Study of the Elements & Criteria." Paper pre-
sented to the U.N. WOrld Population Conference, Belgrade.

91
TABLE X
THAILAND TOTAL POPULATION 1880-1960:
(In millions) (% growth)

1850 Estimate (Ingram)* 5.5

1911 Census 8.266 0.7
1919 Census 9.207 1.4
1929 Census 11.506 2.2
1937 Census 14.464 3.0
1947 Census 17.443 1.9
1956 Survey (20.095) -
1960 Census 26.258 3.2*

Jé C. Ingram, Econ. Change in Thailand Since 1850, Stanford,
l 55. .

*Egégulated from the National Statistical Office Data, 1947-
only recovered to the position of a quarter of century earlier.
Birth registration is now improving fairly rapidly owing to
the need of the birth registration certificate for school
admission. In 1960 it was estimated that only 75% of the
births and 60% of the deaths were recorded.8

However, some confidence can be placed in the
registry data for the purpose of identifying general patterns
of change in the level of urban population. Based on com-
parison of the 1960 census and registry count, the registry

enumeration of the urban population appears to be about 95%

 

8A. Das Gupta et a1. "Population Perspective of
Thailand", Sankhya: The Indian Journal of Statistics
(Ser. B) 27 (1965). PP. 146.

"_
.J

(“warrant-I... mum...
EQL‘.

92
complete. Since these registry data on the population of
Thailand provide the only basis for measuring post-
censal developments, they can be used to assess patterns
of urbanization between census periods.
1. DATA AND MEASUREMENT OF URBAN PLACE AND POPULATION
The concept of urban settlement as an integral part
of an agrarian society is a twentieth century phenomena in
Thailand. The difference between rural and urban populations
is not distinctly defined in terms of measurement, charac-
teristics or collection of vital statistical data, or the
census of Thailand. In the six censuses of Thailand, be-
tween 1911 and 1960, the nearest equivalent to an urban
place is the locality designated as.a municipal area for
administrative purpose by the Ministry of Interior. These
localities are:
1. Cities (Nakhorn) of which there is only Chiangmai
2. Towns (Muang) which consists of provincial
administrative seats regardless of size -
68 Muangs for the remaining 72 provinces.
3. Communes (Tambol) communities designated as a
municipal area by the Ministry of Interior - of
which there are 49.
4. In 1972 Bangkok and Thonburi were combined and
were given the status of a Metropolitan Area of
Greater Bangkok.
There is distortion in using the municipal unit as

an area measurement for urban population. Other areas may

93

have reached an urban level of population concentration,
but lack designation as a Municipal Area, thus were not in-
cluded. As a result, the measurement of change between
1947-1967 is largely restricted to the same units. However,
since most additions would probably be in the very smallest
categories, the overall effect of omission, except for the
analysis on areal units rather than population, may not be
great. Change of the geographical size by extension of the
municipal boundaries, is a measurable base for estimating
the annexed population. The area annexed generally does
not coincide with any areal unit for which independent data
are available.

The urban population is classified by the census
into different types of households. They are listed accord-
ing to the place of residence and to the occupation of the
household as follows:

1. Metropolitan Area of Greater Bangkok.

Urban resident in a non-agricultural household.
Urban resident in an agricultural household.

Rural resident in a non-agricultural household.

U‘J-‘UDN

Rural resident in an agricultural household.

MIGRATION
Another ambiguity in measuring the level and rate of
urbanization is the lack of rural-urban migration informa-
tion in the vital statistics and census. The data do not

permit the distinction between residents of municipal areas

94
and non municipal areas. The only measurement is between
provinces. This is a serious problem, since the urban
population of most provinces constitutes only a small por—
tion of the population.

The only possible measurement of rural-urban
Inigration is in the Bangkok area, since the municipality
constitutes 80% of the province, and it can be assumed that
‘most migration is to the city.

In 1960, two types of migration information were
available; the life-time migrants and the 5 year migrants.
Of the 2 million persons living in Bangkok 25% have been
born in provinces other than Bangkok. Bangkok also lost
persons to other parts of the country. The gross exchange
between Bangkok and the rest of the country, judged by
life-time migration, involved 631,000 persons, but the net
gain to the capital was only 342,000 persons. The inflow
of 486,000 persons is 3 times the outflow of 144,000. This
high level of out migration indicated that movements to a
large metr0politan area is considerably diminished by the
'movement out. This suggests that large numbers of migrants
‘who were not able to secure jobs in the city after a cer-
tain period returned to their villages or other city.

The availability of the 5 year migration information
permits examination of movement into and out of BKK for the
period of 1955-1960. The heavy recent migration to the
capital is emphasized by the fact that the number of migrants

between 1955-1960 equals 1/4 of the total life-time migrants.

91
The rapid growth of Bangkok has accelerated and recent
migrants repreSent an increasing proportion of the total
migrant population of the capital.

Second to the natural increase, migration to the
urban area is a major factor contributing to the increasing
rate of urban growth. A high rate of fertility compounds
the effect which these migrants have.

For the whole kingdom the difference in fertility
level between migrant and nonemigrant women was minimal.

The number of children born to migrant women was 4,308 per
1,000 compared to 4,255 for non-migrant women. The tendency
for the migrant average to be somewhat higher occurred in 4
out of 5 urban-rural categories. The differences were minor
in all but the rural agricultural category where the 4,850
migrant average was considerably above the 4,361 average for
non-migrants.

For both non-migrant and migrant groups fertility
was lowest in Bangkok and became higher with increasing
rural status. Thus the average for the most rural non
migrants was about 1,000 higher per 1,000 women than those in
Bangkok and the differential between migrants was even
greater, almost 1,400. The urban-rural differential for
both migrants and non migrants were thus more marked than any
of the differences characterized by the migrant and non

migrant group.

96
TABLE XI

NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN PER 1,000 MARRIED WOMEN,
LIFE TIME MIGRATION STATUS, 1960 URBAN-RURAL RESIDENCES

Total

Total
Standardized

Total

Total
Standardized

Total

Total
Standardized

Source:

Non-Migrant Migrant

Bangkok
3,310 3,487
3,443 3,340

Other Urban Non Agri.

3,777 3,845
3,813 3,725
Urban Agr.

4,307 3,881
4,113 3,665

Non-Migrant Migrant

Rural- Non Agri

3,847 3,969
3,998 4,039
Rural Agri

4,361 4,850
4,434 4.713

Total Kingdom

4,255 4.308

4,339 4.205

Sidney Goldstein, Interrelation between migration

and Fertility in popuIatiofi‘RedistriBution in
ThaiIand.

CHAPTER V
ALTERNATIVES & RECOMMENDATIONS

In Thailand the urbanization process was accelerated,
first, by the economic development and international trade
of mid-nineteenth century and secondly, by the impact of'medical
science and Western technology. Urban government was intro—
duced to the predominantly rural society only when the govern-
ment turned to a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

Over the last forty-one years, the concept of urban
government has spread throughout the country and has in-
creasingly become one of the major forces of economic and
social development. In order to bring suitable urban
environment and urban services in ways consistent with the
increasing higher standard of living, it has been extended
to include planning efforts at the nationa1,regional and
local levels of government.

By 1985 approximately 20% of the population of
Thailand will be living in urban areas as compared to 39%
in the developing regions of the world. However, if we
look at the rate of increase we will find that the urban

population is increasing twice as fast as the rural population

97

98
in Thailand. The contemporary pace of urbanization is faster
than at any other period of the history of Thailand. The
urgency of dealing with the problems caused by the rapid
rate of urbanization is emphasized by the fact that cities
will soon become the dominant form of settlement for most of
the people in Thailand.1

The contemporary concept of urban settlement is new
to the Thai society. Government has had only limited ex-
perience in the planning and administration of urban areas.
The history of the Thai government has been characterized
by highly centralized bureaucracy. The concept of local
self government exists but only at the lowest levels of the
predominantly rural society. The complexity and impersonal
character of urban self-government have yet to find a
creative expression in a society which is gradually moving
through the process of urbanization. New and better means
of urban planning and administration are essential for
future progress of the country as a whole.

There are two related elements which affect govern-
mental planning and administration that are beyond the
scope of this study. One is the political system of the
country. The other is the problem of external security,

which is directly influenced by the political situation in

 

1United Nations, Administrative Aspects of
UrbanizatiOn, (ST/TAO/M/51)71970, pp. 7-10T

99
the Southeast Asian region as a whole. The willingness
of the central government to decentralize and give
political autonomy to different levels of local government
depends on the question of national security as well as
identity.

The process of urbanization can play a meaningful
role in achieving national identity, provided that the
national policy for urban development is integrated with the
national social and economic development policy. Although
at present the urban sector is small, future progress will
gradually, though increasingly, involve the provision of a
sound foundation and creative environment for the growth of
the urban community as well as for the rest of the nation.
The need for a national policy for urban development is a
reality for a developing country such as Thailand, where
resources are underdeveloped, the rate of population growth
is high and urban government is inexperienced in the process
of social and economic development. A national policy for
urban development can serve as a communication and in-
formation focus and give direction for concerted effort.

Experience in develOping countries has shown that
for a national policy to become meaningful and realistic to
local communities, it must have the capacity and capability
to translate goals and objectives into tangible programs for
the urban communities. The use of an urban region as an

integral part in the process of national development and

100

planning has improved the local perspective of national
issues and policies. Unfortunately regional administration
and planning are at their rudimentary levels in Thailand.
Previous attempts at a provincial form of government has not
produced a cohesive regional government. Both, the central
and the provincial government were not willing to redefine
their political and territorial jurisdictions.

At present the strongeSt move toward regional
planning is fostered by the National Economic Development
Board. These plans recommend regional development projects
which if responsive administrative units are developed,
could become truly regional in character. In Thailand the
importance of regionalism is predominantly political in
nature. Often, different regions felt that the lack of
regional planning contributed to the government's imposing
an unrealistic national policy. Although this study does
not deal directly with regional politics, it recommends feas-
ible governmental organization and activities for future
development in urbanization.

The working tools which will make the urban region
functional are comprehensive planning and programs of
public finance. Planning is an evolutionary process which
creates alternative programs of resource allocation to carry
out the deVelopment of the community. Thailand is one of
those countries where planning is in the governmental domain

and economic resources lie within the private sector.

191

This situation weakens the planning process, especially in
the financing of planning program. It is essential, there-
fore, that the private sector and governmental agencies,
particularly those which concerned with planning and finance,
have means of efficient communication and tools to resolve
conflicts and differences into constructive goals. Creative
use of comprehensive planning and urban public finance
programs can help provide a meeting place for this coop-
erative effort.

The problems of intergovernmental organization are
due to inefficient communications and the lack of delegation
of responsibility. Governments facing the complex problems
of urbanization tend to withhold the decision-making power
from the lower or local authorities. They fear that the
local units are not capable of making such complex decisions;
however, in reality the opposite has often proven to be
true. Given the technical knowledge and the cooperation of
the higher levels of government, local authorities are
capable of solving their own problems. It is the lack of
cooperation that often times limits the decision-making
ability of local government.

Effectiveness and success of any governmental
activity is directly related to citizen participation and
representation. Governmental planning programs most always
involve the improvement of the general public and their

environment. Especially in the planning process, the setting

102
of goals and objectives, as well as the implementation of
the plan require vital citizen participation and representa-
tion.

Certain characteristics of the process of urbaniza—
tion have specific relevance to administration. The first
of these is change. Urbanization is a process of demographic,
social, economic, and physical change, which requires complex
governmental action. Dealing successfully with change has
not been a traditional role of the bureaucratic structure of
government. Institutions meant for control and regulation
are often unsuited to meet challenges of government under
conditions of rapid growth. If urban administration is to
be effective, it must provide innovative and competent
leadership, skill in the formulation of research and policy,
as well as purposeful attitudes on the part of public
officials in dealing with the problems which face them.

A second effect of urbanization on government is the
complexity of the tasks and problems facing government. In
some instances, the government has to provide new urban
services such as mass transportation, construction and
management of high rise dwellings, epidemic control, etc.

In others, traditional urban services provided by simple
methods, such as water supply, sewage, and garbage disposal,
expand and become more complex so that more complicated
arrangements have tobe devised. All of these changes

require greater specialization of both manpower resources

103
and organization, and also frequently demand innovations
in methods of financing.

Third, a further administrative implication of
urbanization arises from the need for coordination and
cooperation to combine governmental activities in a purpose-
ful manner. Administrative efforts in the city are highly
interdependent. In the urban context, water and sewage,
homes and jobs, constructions and transportation are
intricably interrelated. A fundamental issue of urban
administration, then, is the intricate balance between
specialization and coordination. The work of government is
divided among agencies with specialized functions, fre-
quently operating at various governmental levels and within
different geographical boundaries.‘ If urbanization pro-
gresses rapidly, urban services often require an area-wide
focus, demanding a redefinition of jurisdictional boundaries.
Since governmental agencies usually operate at various
levels, the changes arising from urbanization may bring
about interagency competition and conflict. Ways and means
for resolving these conflicts must be found to ensure that

agency efforts are coordinated for common purposes.2

A. National Policy for Urban Development
It is increasingly evident that rapid urbanization

calls for governmental action at all levels and that definite

.......

104

policies be formulated not only to solve urban problems but
also to utilize the positive aspects of urban growth in
fostering social and economic development. Possibly, the
most important policy issue which faces Thailand in the
field of urbanization is the extent to which the government
should attempt to influence the direction of urban growth.

Generally speaking, two conflicting objectives will
have to be reconciled in the design of such a strategy.
One is the rapid increase of per capita income of different
occupational sectors or regions, the other is a decrease in
the imbalance between levels of development of various
regions within the country. The decision as to which goal
will be given priority depends on the historical and geo-
graphical development and on the economic and political
situation of a country.3

Whatever the objectives may be, an important require-
ment of a rational urban development is a clearly defined
policy, which comprehends national plans for urban settlement
and articulates the complimentary roles of national, regional
and local governments for its implementation. In Thailand
the National Economic Development Board has been entrusted
with the formulation of such policy. The translation into

concrete planning programs and budgets overlap ministerial

3International Union of Local Authorities,
LlrbanizatiOn in DeVquping COuntries, 1968, p. 20.

105
boundaries. Major implementation activities are under the
Ministry of National Development as well as the Ministry
of Interior which directly controls the administration of
local governments and the Department of Town and Country
Planning.

Because of the range, level, and complexity of the
governmental activities necessary to deal with urban prob-
lems, it is increasingly apparent that the authority of the
government should not be over-centralized and that collabora-
tion is necessary among its various agencies. The prOper
allocation of responsibility in urban affairs largely depends
upon the specific social, economic and political conditions
of the country. An important consideration is the avail-
ability of trained and competent personnel, as well as
fiscal and technical resources at various levels of govern-
ment. Urbanization is exacting in its demands on the bureau-
cratic structure, and particularly on the components res-
ponsible for the development of policies. It calls for
functional cooperation and intergovernmental partnership in

the performance of complex tasks.

B. Urban Region
Almost all international conferences on urban problems
held during the past decade have recommended that national
policies, programs and budgeting be established for the urban
region as an integral part of general strategy for development

Planning. Most developing countries have adopted a national

106
economic development plan, but urban problems have only
been integrated to the level of local issues.4
One approach, to which important attention has been
given in many countries, is the regional organization of

various urban activities. Administrative organization of

an urban region involves the extension of governmental

ia’mfi
: raw;

jurisdiction over areas which are related, or likely to be
related, for the effective provision of urban services.

Hence, a regionally organized system of government may com-

.Pfl K‘I“ i'bfimfiilm

prise a large city, the built-up area of a city together
with the partially urbanized sectors around it, or an area
with several adjoining cities together with the open spaces
between or around them. The urban region may involve one or
more services, and one or more governmental processes or
structures . 5

Regional organization is important, not only in
terms of its area and services but also in terms of its
effective contribution toward the establishment of communica-
tion between government, civic and private agencies, and

to the relationships likely to further the effective

achievement of public goals. An important feature of the

 

4mm.

5United Nations. Administrative Aspects of
IlrbaniZation, 1970, pp. 14-29.

 

 

107

regional organization of urban administration is the need
to coordinate the extensive, specialized, and complex
urban services. Traditional reliance upon the formal
allocation of authority in hierarchical fashion is the
most frequently used approach to administrative organization.
Coordination, however, may also be achieved in other ways.
For example, comprehensive planning, especially when integrated
with a work program.or a budget, is an effective coordinative
device. Coordination may be achieved by effective communica-
tion, or even by personal and social attributes, exemplified
by a dominant personality or group becoming the main influ-
ence on organized activities.
1. Types and Functions of Regional Organization

The urban administration systems found in various
parts of the world reflect the cultural values and political
traditions of the nations which have instituted them- How-
ever, the need for providing urban services effectively and
efficiently is increasingly leading toward some degree of
regional organization and responsibility for urban services.
The four types of regional systems may be classified as
follows:

a. A regionally organized system.of administration.
In such a system urban services are administered over the built-
up sector, the urban'deVelopment area around it, and the
rural areas affeCting or likely in the future to be directly

affected by urban developments. The planning of the urban

108
area and the administration of the urban services take all
these sectors into consideration and attempt to integrate
their resources and potential in the light of regional needs.

b. Comprehensive local government. In this system
urban services are administered through one or more general
purpose local government units. There may be one or more
local governments encompassing the urban region. Sometimes,
there may be a regional association of local governments,
which has coordinating powers. The distinctive character
of this type of urban administration is that operational
responsibility is predominantly local, even if central or
subnational field divisions may be found in the region.

Urban administrative systems in the group can be further
differentiated according to the extent of decentralization
of powers granted to the regional authorities or the local
bodies within the region.

c. MMlti-jurisdictional system. In this system
regional organization involves a mixture of central and local
government units undertaking services within the whole urban
area. Often the main coordinating authority may lie with a
central government official, a provincial official or
governor, who has authority to control and supervise local
government units within the region.

d. Field administration system. Regionally organized
field administration implies that urban serVices are the main

tresponsibility of and are coordinated by an agency or field

109
office of the central government. Administration is usually
under the direction of local chief executive directly
responsible to higher authority in the central government.
Operating agencies within the region are dependent upon
central budgets. Such local authorities as exist in the
region have little formal influence on significant urban
services.

In India, a system of area management has been pro-
posed, under which rural and urban areas are treated as an
integral unit for administrative purposes of planning and
implementation. Besides the administrative efficiencies
achieved under this system, there are also benefits of social
and political significance, such as the integration between
urban and rural areas and the deve10pment of an organic
sense of community over the region as a whole.6

The four types of regional organizations are not dis-
tinct and separate entities. In practice, they could be
found in varying combinations. The multi-jurisdictional
system of regional organization, emphasizing the municipal,
provincial and the central government seems to be the
operating administrative system in Thailand at present. It
has allowed the highly centralized national government to

‘work in conjunction with local authorities. At the same time

6United Nations. AdministratiVe Aspect of Urbaniza-
tzion, 1970, pp. 20-23.

110

the local unit is able to learn from experience and to
develop its competencies. Within a foreseeable future,
local agencies could be expected to increase their capability
and responsibility in urban services. A comprehensive
regional system of administration has been the central con-
cept of administrative deve10pment in Thailand. With the
rapid process of urbanization, a comprehensive regional system
may well become the main Operative element in the future
administrative structure of Thailand.
2. Regional CoordinatiOn

In an administrative system without regional organiza-
tion, fragmentation contributes to duplication of effort;
it obscures areas of responsibility and creates rivalries
and conflicts both between and within various services.
Sound urban administration largely depends upon a proper
appreciation of the need for interdependence between services.
In the past, coordination of administrative effort was
attempted by the imposition of hierarchical controls or by
the complete amalgamation of units into larger bodies. But
a true understanding of the interrelationship between ser-
vices, based on a proper analysis, enables administrators to
focus their attentions on crucial points. Service, for
example, may be integrated on the basis of technical
requisites or functional attributes. Governmental efforts
may also be linked together on the basis of interdependence

of functions, procedures, resources, the clientele, development.

111

3. Regional Administration and Comprehensive Planning

One of the most important justifications for a
regional approach to urban administration is the need for
comprehensive planning. With the pressure from inmigrations
of rural people, the problems of urban sprawl, urban
services and activities are assuming a wider perspective
than the local viewpoint. Economic, social and tech—
nological factors are also bringing about more effective
integration, especially in the formation and implementation

of planning.

C. Comprehensive Urban Planning

The need for comprehensive planning arises from the
rapid growth and changes brought about by urbanization.
Effort to deal with urban problems involve a wide range of
governmental and non-governmental actions. All aspects of
urban administration stress the continuing need for policy
innovation, coordination, and evaluation. In many areas
of the world comprehensive planning is increasingly be-
coming accepted as an instrument of improvement in the
performance of governmental function in dealing with the
complex aspects of urbanization.7

The various units of government should subject the

entire process to continuing review, and evaluation and

 

71bid., p. 73.

112

adjust plans and projects whenever necessary. Review and
evaluation forms the transition to a new cycle of planning
and decision-making on the basis of a continuous stream
of feedback information. This concept of planning diverges
from the notion that planners are merely a group of con-
sultants and technicians located apart from the rest of the
administration, and stresses that planning is an on going
action-oriented process, directly involved in the day-to-day
activities of the administration.8

In Thailand, government's policy has a direct effect
on the economy; at least to the extent that the public
sector's control over real resources, presents some form
of planned intervention in the free market processes.
Thailand is still in a pre-industrial stage; an increased
rate of agricultural productivity and growth in the commercial
and industrial sectors is necessary for the improvement of
social welfare, and private activity alone is neither
sufficient nor efficient enough to move the economies in the
desired directions. Government planning may have to embrace
not only the public but also the private sector as well.
1. Relationship among National, Regional and Local Plans

The linkage between plans of various levels of govern-

‘ment are crucial factors in the ability of planning to

 

8International Union of Local Authorities.
Urbanization in Developing Countries, 1968, p. 23.

113

stimulate agreement and coordination in intergovernmental
systems. In addition, these linkages are crucial to corre-
lation between physical and economic plans and the activities
of different levels of governmental authorities. Such link-
ages are complex organizational problems. And total
centralization of planning tends to be divorced from both
relevant information and local needs.9
In urban regions, economic and land use planning
are of special importance. A full inter-relationship between
different levels of planning is essential. This is
especially true in mixed enterprise systems, such as
Thailand, where decisions on economic investments are
largely in the private sector, while the preparation of plans
for land utilization is mainly a governmental function. In
systems of local administration without strong regional
government, planning tends to be exclusively local, although
it is well recognized that urban functions can not be
arbitrarily divided on the basis of local political boundaries.
The integration and coordination of a medium range
plan for economic investment and a long range land use plan
are the most difficult problems facing a developing country,

such as Thailand. The nature of the annual budgetary system

 

9Ann'Marie Hauch Walsh. The Urban Challenge to
Government, 1969, pp. 200-201.

 

114

make it necessary for all plans to consider their trans-
lation into annual fiscal components. Growing countries,
such as Thailand, need to develop a planning vocabulary
within the financial system which will help in translating,
public planning programs into the national and local
budgetary terms. The proper financial and operational
activities must be carried out in such a way that specific
plans are derived from, or are at least consistent with,
the long range plans. Moreover, the division of plans into
different, comprehensive time periods is helpful in
utilizing feedbacks from.the short range plans in the
revision and formulation of long-range plans. In this way,
experience in administration and plan formulation is used to
the fullest extent and implementatiOn benefits directly
fromrevision.10
2. Function of Comprehensive Planning

The concept and execution of comprehensive planning
is directly related to the specific functions which they are
supposed to perform. Planning in a free market economy is
predicated on the assumption that the general public will
accept the purposes and cooperate in the implementation of
the plan. Hence a plan must be a teaching document as well

as a statement of intent. It must throw light on the purposes

 

10United Nations. Administrative Aspects of
Urbanization. (ST/TAO/M/Sl) 1970, pp. 72-74.

 

115
of particular economic policies and institutional changes
for the benefits of all sectors whose cooperation is needed
in the course of implementation.

Another function of a plan, consists of lessening
the uncertainty facing individual and institutional
decision-makers through the dissemination of information.
The thinner the markets and the less the information avail-
able about investment and government policies, the greater
the difficulty which confronts the decentralized private
and public decision-makers in estimating the desirability
of specific investments or general public activities. Since
the risk of failure is an important deterrent from action,
planners must make available that information which
diminishes the area of uncertainty.

When rapid changes are occurring and resources are
scarce, the government must plan the development of the urban
areas. There is a vital need for comprehensive policies
or development programs which take into account the juris-
dictional, ecOnomic, political and social aspects of urban
problems. Comprehensive planning with its research,
analysis, establishment of priorities and administrative
programs for implementation is instrumental in the development
of such policies and programs. By relating goals to
resources, defining options for decisions and providing
guidance in the establishment of developmental priorities,

comprehensive planning may provide the basis for sound

116
COOperative, consultative and participatory efforts that
make easier the implementation and administration of the
plan.

In many developing countries, planning institutions
have frequently been a source of innovation, which produces
new solutions and overcomes the inertia of governmental red
tape. As they develop more effective systems of informa-
tion, processing, improved technical skills, and a well
balanced perspective of the developmental process, planning
institutions often become important sources for novel
approaches to urban problems. Apart from introducing in-
novations, some planning agencies, such as the National
Economic Development Board and the Department of Town and
Country Planning, have stimulated the development of new
urban administration agencies which became effective in
achieving urban development goals.

3. Implementation of Comprehensive Plans

Urban development plans require two types of activi-
ties. One, the execution of the approved plan by govern-
mental authorities. Two, the regulation and control of land
use according to the physical plan. In Thailand the control
and regulatory aspects of planning receive greater emphasis,
while the execution effort tends to be overlooked. In this
way, institutions for enforcement of zoning codes, building
regulations, and sub-division requirements are readily

found in different municipalities, while programming and

117
implementing agencies are often inadequate. One reason for
the lack of attention paid to the plan execution is the
relative difficulty in obtaining timely and complimentary
decisions from the different governmental units. In the
execution of a plan the number of officials involved, the
governmental levels they represent, and the procedures and
methods they follow, create a complex system of decision-
making. The decisions required in carrying out a plan
usually include:

a. Detailed project design and scheduling by tech-
nical operating agencies.

b. Approval of the project, designed by provincial
or national ministries, which apply for grants
of loans.

c. Authorization of the program in budgetary and
appropriation legislation, by one or several
participating governmental levels.

d. Decisions on the provision of staff and the
scheduling of work by implementing agencies.

e. Procedures for review and evaluation as well as

the readjustment of plans, programs and projects.

D. Urban Public Finance
The financial resources of the cities in Thailand are

not, as a rule, keeping pace with the increasing rate of

 

lzIbid.. pp. 82-84.

 

118

urban growth and the demands on urban services. For the
most part, these cities have a large service sector and
little industrial development which limits the local tax
base. Financial weakness also stems from an unrealistic
financial policy and ineffective administration. New
approaches to planning and novel budgeting techniques are
needed to generate increased revenue. Furthermore, the
control and evaluation of fiscal activities through account-
ing, auditing, and other processes designed to provide
accurate information must be included in order to improve
existing programs and maximize future resource allocation.
1. Planning, Programmingpand BudgetingASystems

The budgetary process is one of the key elements in
implementation. A frequent source of difficulty is the fact
that budgeting is an annual process, while the implementa-
tion requirements of most plans involve a longer time span.
A promising approach to the integration of plans into the
budgeting process is the planning, programming, and
budgeting system. This involves the collection of more
and better information on such basic factors as population,
natural resources, economic activity, and administrative
operation, as well as more detailed data on the operations
and programs of government and business. It also necessi-
tates the development of indices capable of measuring the
benefits from public and private activity. The feasibility
of the PPBS in Thailand will be strongly affected by the

 

119
level of technical expertise and also by the degree of
political acceptability.

On a less comprehensive scale and with more direct
relevance to government operation at the urban level, a
performance budgetary system has been used to coordinate
the government's planning and operation. Instead of con—
centrating on the expenditure of inputs as with the traditional
line-item budget, performance budgeting identifies the out-
put of an organization and relates them to the inputs. In

government operations where the quality and quantity of

 

outputs can be easily measured, such as the miles of road
constructed, the number of houses built, or the amount of
water supplied, performance budgeting system has proved to be
of great value. It has less success, however, in linking
inputs to outputs in intangible services, such as health,
welfare, education, police and fire services.

2. Revenue Sharing_

 

There are generally two possible approaches to a
solution of the financial weakness of urban local governments.
One is to strengthen the local taxation system; the other is
to increase the amount of assistance from the central govern-
ment. Property tax may be improved; collection can be made
more efficient; some new supplementary taxes may be imposed.
Yet it is increasingly evident that if most local urban
governments are to provide adequate services, more assistance

is needed from the upper levels of government.

120
The use of revenue sharing schemes should be con-
sidered in the light of the need for obtaining the best
result from tax efforts at all levels of governments. In
Japan local authorities are encouraged to increase local tax
revenues by the use of a tax sharing formula which bases the
amount which can be drawn from the fund to a specific per-

centage of estimated local revenues. The Japanese system,

 

known as the "Local Equalization Grant System", is used by I
the central government to allocate public funds more equit- a
ably among different levels of government. Deposits to the . 9
fund are made on the basis of a certain percentage of three
national taxes; personal income tax, cooperate income tax
and liquor tax. They are distributed to local authorities
by the national government according to a set formula. Each
year the central government in Japan checks each local
government budget, to calculate the minimum standard
requirement for the operation of each local unit. This is
calculated on the basis of:
a. The size of the population, the area of a local
unit, the number of local government employees,
the number of public school teachers, and the
quality public facilities.
b. The unit cost of each public facility or public
employee.
c. Geographic features such as temperature, location
and population density which may affect local

government.

121

Each local unit can apply for assistance from the
fund, in the form of a block grant, by calculating the
balance between the minimum financial needs and the ex-
pected local revenue.13

A somewhat different system is used in Finland,
where grants are based on acceptable standards of expenditure
fixed by the central government. Some countries, such as
Israel, the Sudan, and the United Kingdom, require that local
units match grants proportionally with local resources.

At present, grants from the national government in
Thailand are allocated at times in response to requests
from the local government and at times according to the
political importance of the locality. The establishment of
a system of standardized revenue sharing would be an import-
ant step in fostering financial security and certainty for
the process of urban development in Thailand.
3. Public Service and Capital Improvement Program

Public services can be used as a means of channeling
human activities by providing opportunities for the inhabit-
ants of the city to take advantage of capital improvement
programs which include the street system. The public

utilities system, the transportation system, the location of

 

13International Union of Local Government Authorities,
Local Government Finance, 1969, pp. 25-30.

 

122

open spaces, recreational facilities and public buildings.14

The program of public services must consider the
relationship of capital improvements to current operating
and maintenance costs and to the operating budgets for all
city services. The capital improvement program and the pub-
lic services program lead, in turn, to a capital budget.

The capital budget schedule is usually planned for a five

or six-year period. Plans for public expenditure are
executed under the annual budget, apart of the capital bud-
get which is authorized by enacting appropriation legislation.

An important responsibility of the planning agency
is to carry through, in cooperation with the city
administrator and other city departments, the process that
leads from the comprehensive plan, through the capital
improvement program, the public service programs and the
capital budget, to the annual budget and the actual con-
struction of the facilities.If realistic implementation of
the comprehensive plans is to be accomplished, the neces-
sity for coordination of the planning agency with other

agencies cannot be overemphasized.15

E. Intergovernmental Organization & Coordination
There is a need to organize shared responsibility

among different levels of government in order to deal

 

14The Institute for Training in Municipal Administration.
Local Planning Administration, Mary McLean, ed., Third Edition,
1959} pp. 19120. '

lslbid.

 

123

effectively with urban problems. In various systems of
urban administration, effective partnership rather than
intergovernmental conflict is essential for success. This
demands full use of common resources, coordination of
comprehensive planning effort and more effective communica-

tion between governmental agencies. It is becoming more

 

and more obvious that owing to the increased scope, cost
and technical complexity of urban programs, the involve-

ment and participation of various levels of government and

I".
Ir 1'
«.1
i
G
j.

m

L-r:

the sharing of responsibility for such services has proved

t:

to increase efficiency and effectiveness as well as provide
greater benefit for the community.

Where there is shared responsibility, it is normal
for local institutions, whether units of local government
or field agencies, to assume responsibility for calling
attention to local needs and for initiating proposals to
alleviate local problems. The lack of regional government
and the highly centralized control of the government in
Thailand have contributed to the difficulty for local govern-
ment to share adequate responsibility in urban development
programs.
1. Local Responsibility of Public Service

The allocation of public responsibilities to various
levels of government should spell out what is expected with
precision, and at the same time allow flexibility which

enables the governmental unit to meet unforseen needs. A

124 .

sound approach to meet this dilemma is to Specify legally
the services which local governments must perform and to
give them, in addition, general powers to undertake other
local functions that are not being performed by higher
authorities.

In the first place, functions that are plainly local
in character, such as provision of drinking water, market
facilities, irrigation works and local streets, should be
allocated to local authorities. Certain activities such as

research and training, may best be diacharged by central

 

 

agencies. Services requiring highly specialized skills, and
large capital investment of relatively wide area organiza-
tions usually cannot be desolved upon lower levels of local
authorities.16
Numerous studies have indicated that planning is one
of the most important processes for which responsibility
should be shared between central, regional and local
authorities. Specific aspects of urban plans may be in-
itiated at any governmental level, but it is usually desirable
that comprehensive and integrated plans should originate at
the lowest possible level of government to ensure that they

effectively meet salient problems. Ideally, a plan thus

originated includes a wider range of factors, matters of

 

16United Nations. Decentralization for National and
Local Development, (ST/TAO/Mfl9), 1962, p. 25.

125

local concern would thus be more effectively integrated
into metropolitan and regional programs. In this way the
basis for coordination is built into the plan itself and
the implementation of the plan can be anticipated and
eventually controlled.

In developing countries, there is a lack of local
regulatory measures. Local zoning, building and sanitation
codes are frequently rudimentary. In some instances, this
may be due to the lack of general statutes at the central
level; this in turn offers little incentive to local
authorities to enact local regulations. Generally, the weak-
ness of local measures may be due to local aversion to add-
ing more regulations to those already enforced by central
authority, which sometimes justified by central authority
in terms of national security and unity especially in
country such as Thailand where an external security is
important.17

2. Local PlanningpLegislation

 

Urban planning measures may affect the property
interests of many thousands of landowners and accordingly
must be exercised within a framework of law. Planning
measures must satisfy national constitutional requirements
in that the regulation must be in the public interest. They

must be directly regulated to public health, safety, morals

 

17United Nations. Administrative Aspects of
Urbanization; (ST/TAO/M/51)I970, pp. 33-34.

 

126

and welfare. It must not "unreasonably" impair the owner's
property interest and must be "reasonably" related to
planning goals. This general language allows a wide area
for planning action, but always, in spite of great need,
there is an ultimate limit beyond which the local unit can
not go unless fair compensation is paid for the property
interest taken.

In the system of government that prevails in the
United States, city, county, or urban regions have only
those powers that the state or federal governments
delegate to them. Therefore, before a community can proceed
with planning, it needs to receive from the state a grant of
power, authorizing it to plan. Adequate enabling legisla-
tion forms the firm base on which the entire pyramid of
effective planning rests. Planning enabling legislation
is usually "permissive" rather than mandatory. Permissive
legislation does not establish local planning. It simply
permits the cities to establish planning agencies, provided
that a specified legal procedure is followed. A city takes
advantage of permissive legislation by adopting local
planning ordinances.

In addition to ordinances establishing local planning
agencies and describing their structures and power, planning
regulations must be adopted in the form of an ordinance by
the city council. The same is true of subdivision regula-

tions, the official map, the long-term capital budget and

127

the master plan.18

3. Administrative Regulation

 

A legislative provision or city ordinance delegates
to an administrative agency or officer of the city govern-
ment the power to fill in the details of regulatory acts by
issuing "administrative regulations". So long as the city
council has the right, under state law, to make such
delegation and so long as the regulations that are issued,
comply with the terms of the delegated rules, these regula-
tions also have the force of law. A

In practice, different parts of the planning legis-
lation may be contained in state or provincial statutes,

city charters, ordinances and administrative regulations.

From the standpoint of the agency exercising planning power,

the last two methods of authorization - ordinance and
administrative regulations - have the advantage of being
more flexible than national and ministerial acts. Enabling
legislation written in broad terms gives the city the
opportunity to work out its planning problems in the manner
it finds best adopted to local needs - provided of course,
that the courts give a sufficient broad interpretation of
these powers in cases coming to them on appeal. Reasonably

detailed enabling legislation is advantageous when there is

 

18

tion. Local Planning Administration, ed. Mary McLean,
third edition, 1959, pp. 23524. '

The Institute for Training in Municipal Administra-

 

 

E ‘9”. .

128
a problem of granting important new planning powers toward
which the attitude of the courts is somewhat doubtful.19

4. Communication and Cooperation

 

As the interdependence between one level of govern—
ment and another increases, their relationship becomes more
and more complex and unpredictable. Formal channels of com-
munication have to be improved, and informal communication
systems are necessary to compliment them. In most tech-
nologically advanced countries, the articulation of urban
needs and demands is generally achieved at the local level.
This is performed by individual citizens, voluntary groups
or committees, who bring their needs to the attention of the
government. The sum of these needs and demands is usually
transmitted to appropriate authorities where they frequently
have an influence on public policies, programs and projects.
In developing countries, reports of such needs are commonly
made by members of the administration itself and, in some
cases, even by foreign technical assistance experts. This may
indicate a communication gap between the people and the
administrative system, which may reflex the general apathy,
resignation of the people, or an idea that the business of
government is not to provide service but to impose controls.

An important ingredient in intergovernmental relation

is the evolution of habits of discussion, negotiation and

 

19Ibid., p. 26.

129

compromise. Where the approach to the administration of
urban services is unduly formal, dealing between central
and local government tends to become rigid. The require-
ments of intergovernment partnership make flexible arrange-
ment necessary to provide opportunities for compromise and
to facilitate adjustment by each governmental unit to the

decision of others.

F. Popular Participation and Representation

As urbanization progresses, life becomes increasing-
ly complex for urban residents. This causes popular
bewilderment and leads to low participation and lack of
involvement by citizens in urban affairs. As the scope of
urban government expands, power gravitates to professional
administrators, and increases the tendency for the citizen
to feel alienated. This emphasizes the need for increased
attention to popular participation and representation in
urban government.20

The extent of participation - whether direct or in-
direct - may be regarded as a function of communication in
the broadest sense. Good communication among people,

especially within a community, leads to the identification of

common interests and needs and direct action to satisfy them.

 

20United Nations. Administrative Aspects of
Urbanization, (ST/TAO/M/Sl) 1970, p. 59.

 

130

Good communication between the people and their government

leads to responsiveness in national programs on the part of

the people and to satisfying the local needs on the part of

political leaders and public servants.

21

1. Popular ParticipatiOn in the Planning Process

 

There are three approaches to popular participation

in planning, although in practice these are not sharply

distinct but overlap at many points.

a.

The most common is an up-dating type of in~
formation gathering in which efforts are made

to contact local communities in sample areas

to obtain information for planning and evalua~
tion. Much of the raw material data needed

for planning can be obtained through censuses,
surveys and other mass data ~ gathering means,
but here an attempt is made to involve the
people directly. The emphasis is on information-
gathering, not on its analysis and interpretation.
Popular participation may also be sought after a
draft plan has been prepared by giving people an
opportunity to comment fully on the draft through
various technical working groups, consultative
committees, standing panels or other advisory

groups. In this referendum type, there are at

 

21

United Nations. Decentralization for National and

Local Development. (ST/TAOIM719) 1962, p. 32.

131

least two principal reasons for referring the
plan to the general public for comment. One

is to test the realism of the plan through the
opinions of those whose lives it will directly
effect. The other is to enlist effort, create
enthusiasm and ensure commitment of funds,

where the eventual success of the plan depends

on local cooperation through labor, acceptance

of technological innovations, and financing.

In some cases, such as the National Economic
Council of the Philippines, provision is even
made for representation of various interests in
the planning body. In Indonesia the National
Planning Council is required to derive its
membership from the different regions of the
country as well as from different groups. In
India, the Planning Commission has attempted over
the years to balance the contents of the plan by
combining public opinions pressures and expert
consideration. This combination of technical

and popular pressure elements is itself con-
sidered to be an act of super balancing of India's
development plans.

A third type of participation is the decentralized
planning type. Here people are directly involved
in the planning process through encouragement,

authority and opportunities provided to them to

132

draw up plans for their own localities. Local
plans are then taken into account in planning
at higher administrative levels. This also
gives people leeway to amplify or modify to
some extent what is expected of them at the

implementation stage.22

2. Participation and Representation in Urban Government

Public participation and representation in urban

government have many variations. Frequently these are

institutionalized patterns, originating from communal activi-

ties, or from rural practices of shared labor and mutual aid.

Each type of organization naturally has both advantages and

disadvantages.

a.

Representative city council: the most common
method of citizen participation and representa-
tion in urban government is the election of
local councils which speak for the people.
Councils are also relied on to reflect the
needs, interests, and aspirations, of the
urban inhabitants in the policies which they
formulate and upon the issues which they
deliberate. Election at large is common in
many cities because it is believed to encourage

council members to reflect the general interests

 

22

Planning,

 

United Nations. Local Participation in Development
(ST/SOA/77), 1968ipp. 41-43.

133

of the city as a whole. In large metro-
politan areas representation by wards or
districts has been found a more satisfactory
alternative. At the same time district or
ward council members often provide useful
communication between small neighborhood com-
munities and the larger metropolitan govern-
ment, particularly when regular meetings are
held between council members and their con-
stituents.

b. Neighborhood committee: in the rural environ-
ment, village and commune councils have served
as the practical primary group associations.
These have served the legitimate functions of
organizing local works such as road and
irrigation canal building, well digging, and
temple construction and rennovation. The urban
neighborhood councils and committees have also
proved to be an excellent method for citizen
participation in many developing countries.

3 ~ Advisory Councils and BOards

A common method of providing citizen participation
iJr‘k governmental affairs, is the appointment of citizens to
aSal-wisory councils attached to elective bodies, regulatory

c-thnittees, and neighborhood councils. Even greater benefits

Elecrue when the citizens appointed to these councils and

134

boards are selected beCause of technical competence, merit,
prominence in the community or relevant experience and know-
ledge. Where this is done, the participation of such
exceptional citizens frequently results in improved

23
programs.

 

23United Nations. Administrative Aspects of
Urbanization, (ST/TAO/M/Sl) 1970, pp. 65-68.

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. First ReVision of the Greater Bangkok Plan,
Bangk0k, 1971.

138

The Department of Town and Country Planning, Greater Bangkok
Plan 1990 by Litchfield Whiting Bowne and Associates

and'Adams, Ho- ard and Greeley, consultants, second
edition, Bangkok, 1964.

Revision of the T0wn and Country Planning Act 1952,

IIby Yut Sanguthai, secretary of the Judicial Committee,
Bangkok, 1971.

 

ARTICLES

A. Das Gupta et a1. "Population Perspective of Thailand. "

Sankhya, the Indian Journal of Statistic, (Ser. B/27/
1965), I46.

Prayad Buranasiri and Snoh Unakul. "Obstacles to Effective
Planning Encountered in the Thai Planning Experience.

The Philippine Economic Journal, IV (Second Semester
1965), 327- 340.

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