The move came as the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is set to withdraw from the temple, according to Booncherd Kittitharangkoon, director of the Office of the Secretary-General of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC).

Following the SSC’s meeting on Thursday, Booncherd said Wat Phichaiyat abbot Somdet Phra Buddhashinnawong, in his capacity as ecclesiastical chief superintendent of the Central region, signed an order to set up the two panels to manage Dhammakaya Temple.

The panels will be headed by Ecclesiastical Region 1 chief Phra Thepsuthee and Pathum Thani monk chief Phra Theprattanasuthee.

The panels will oversee and provide guidance and instruction to Dhammakaya’s acting abbot so as to maintain the daily operations of the temple as well as maintain law and order.

National Office of Buddhism (NOB) director-general Pongporn Parmsneh told the press that SSC had acknowledged the DSI’s proposal to solve the Dhammakaya issue, which would be sent to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to consider.

It includes the DSI’s request for the junta leader to lift the special-control order over the temple that was implemented under the all-powerful Article 44 of the interim charter, so police can form teams to search for the temples fugitive former abbot Phra Dhammachayo, he said.

A joint operation centre for peace and order would be set up at Dhammakaya Temple to ensure activities there are done in accordance with Dhammavinaya and the law as well as gather information about Phra Dhammachayo, he said.

The Interior Ministry would be assigned to probe the Dhammakaya Temple Foundation’s operations to determine if any illegalities were committed and the Finance Ministry would inspect its financial matters including tax payments, he said.

The NOB would establish a committee to check if Dhammakaya’s teachings and propagation methods went against the Dhammavinaya, he added.

Pongporn said the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society would be assigned to monitor messages of incitement online, while the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission would block or cancel the satellite TV broadcasting operations of Dhammakaya Media Channel until concrete solutions were implemented.

The military would provide security around the temple, he added.

ERC member Weerapol Jirapraditkul said on Thursday the ERC was waiting for a confirmation letter from the ALRO about the projects’ legal status before proceeding with issuing the licences.

He said the agency had halted issuing the licences pending clarity from the ALRO.

Thai Wind Energy Association vice president Sumet Suthapacti, who is also Federation of Thai Industries vice president, said wind farm operators now had more confidence in public policy for electricity generation following the ALRO ruling.

“This will enable the wind farm industry in Thailand to further progress and develop,” he said.

The projects under 11 companies, which are in the process of applying for the projects’ operating licences, are worth Bt72 billion in total.

When combined with the 17 projects under 16 companies that have been cleared of ambiguity over the use of Sor Por Kor land, these projects will result in at least Bt100 billion being injected into the local economy, with local farmers also set to benefit, Sumet added.

He said the private sector was now confident the public sector would achieve its target of buying 3,000 megawatts of electricity per year from wind farms by 2036 as per the Energy Efficiency Development Plan (2015-2036). Currently, the figure is 1,800MW.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said that after the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling to stop Thepsathit Wind Farm Co Ltd’s project in Chaiyaphum province, which affected the status of the 17 wind farm projects, the ALRO assigned a fact-finding committee to probe the issue and deliver a finding within 45 days for the sake of clarity.

The probe result concluded that the ALRO has the legal authority to let the private sector use Sor Por Kor land, while the 17 projects had applied for permission as per the associated laws and regulations and they did not breach the lease contracts which require them to pay Bt35,000 per year per rai to the ALRO and pay compensation to farmers as well as implement local development measures, Chatchai said.

The committee resolved that the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling on Thepsathit Wind Farm Co was in effect as inter partes and as a result other wind farm projects will not be affected, according to ALRO chief Sompong Inthong.

A NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) subcommittee yesterday gave in to opposition and withdrew the controversial Article 10/1 amendment to the Petroleum Act, effectively sinking the proposal to set up a new national oil company.

Before the dramatic withdrawal, more than 10 NLA members had argued in favour of Article 10/1 and only one NLA member, who called for a separate legislation to set up the national company, had spoken against the bill. Yesterday, a pressure group led by former senator Rosana Tositrakul gathered outside Parliament and sent a representative to demand that the amendment to the Petroleum Bill be scrapped.

Former deputy prime minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula had also strongly opposed Article 10/1 on the grounds that it would hand control of national energy over to the military.

Supporters say a national oil company would serve as a state mechanism to manage the country’s oil and gas resources once existing concessions for the largest Erawan and Bongkot fields in the Gulf of Thailand expire in 2022 and 2023.

After refusing to answer questions from reporters on the issue yesterday ahead of the NLA vote, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issued a written statement saying the government was not behind the move. He also pledged not to allow the military to play a leading role in managing petroleum resources.

He said the amended petroleum bill had earlier been endorsed by Cabinet for NLA passage because the government wanted to speed up private investment in the energy sector.

According to the premier, existing concessions for both the Erawan and Bongkot fields, which account for a combined 70 per cent of the country’s indigenous sources of natural gas, are due to expire in the next few years, so the private sector needs sufficient lead time to make investment decisions based on the petroleum legislation.

The proposed amendment will allow the government to use multiple methods to boost financial benefits from these resources, including production-sharing contracts and service contracts in awarding the rights for natural gas exploration and production.

At present, the government can only grant concessions to private oil and gas companies in return for royalties and other fees.

However, Nopporn Thepsithar, chairman of the Thai National Shippers Council, said he shared the opinion of Pridiyathorn.

Earlier this week, Pridiyathorn issued a statement urging the NLA to review the amended Bill, arguing a national oil company would set back the country’s energy sector for decades. Critics said it would be redundant since there are existing state-owned oil and gas companies such as PTT and PTTEP, while there could be political abuses and inefficiencies in the future.

Meanwhile, the People’s Network for Thai Energy Reform submitted its petition to the NLA yesterday morning calling for a specific timeframe to establish a national oil company. The network stated it would boost financial benefits for the country once existing petroleum concessions in the Gulf of Thailand expire.

While defending the government’s integrity in reforming the energy sector, especially with regard to the proposed establishment of a new national company, the prime minister also threatened legal action against protesters opposing the new bill. He said his administration would not allow the military to be involved in the energy reform effort, as feared by critics.

The case has been postponed until April 27, Office of the Attorney-General deputy spokesman Prayut Phetkhun said yesterday.

A decision on the indictment had been scheduled for yesterday when Vorayuth – who has been living a lavish lifestyle overseas according to news agency reports – was supposed to present himself to prosecutors. However, his lawyer filed a letter with the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court prosecutor’s office, saying Vorayuth was “preoccupied” in England.

The spokesman insisted that the Attorney-General had not been complacent about the case and was in fact trying to expedite it, but prosecutors were unable to indict Vorayuth because he had requested a postponement of the decision and failed to turn himself in to prosecutors.

The case would be clearer by the end of April, he added.

Vorayuth, a grandson of the late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, allegedly smashed his Ferrari into 47-year-old policeman Snr Sgt-Major Wichean Klinprasert and sped away, dragging the body down a Bangkok street for about 100 metres in September 2012. He was 27 at the time.

Vorayuth, who is widely known as “Boss”, then allegedly fled the scene and drove to his nearby house in Thong Lor. Police followed him to his house and demanded his surrender.

However, he initially refused and remained inside the house until senior police arrived at the scene with an arrest warrant.

His family later agreed to hand him in to police and Vorayuth was charged with reckless driving and causing the death of a policeman. He then walked free on bail amid widespread perceptions that the heir of a multi-billion baht fortune was being treated leniently by authorities.

The decision not to indict him follows a long series of failures by him to appear for court dates. His lawyer has consistently filed requests to delay meetings on the grounds that he was not in the Kingdom or was suffering from illness.

In the past week, media reports have shown that Vorayuth has not kept the low profile that might be expected from a suspect in the killing of a policemen. He has been documented enjoying a luxurious jet-set lifestyle, flying around the world on the Red Bull private jet and sometimes seen cheering the Red Bull Formula One team. It has not been hard to track him down in London, Laos’s ancient capital of Luang Prabang and even in Bangkok, where he faces charges.

However, Attorney-General spokesman Prayut repeated yesterday that Vorayuth’s family background and enormous wealth would not influence prosecutors.

The Attorney-General decided to indict him in April of last year but he had consistently failed to turn up in court, with his lawyer requesting postponements many times on the grounds that the suspect was abroad, Prayut said.

Vorayuth’s legal team also used delaying tactics by requesting the consideration of the Justice and Police Affairs committee of the National Legislation Assembly (NLA), which forced the Attorney-General to wait for the NLA’s committee investigation, Prayut said.

However, the committee has ended its investigation and the Attorney-General issued another summons for Vorayuth to meet prosecutors to inform him about an indictment yesterday, but then the office agreed to grant another postponement, Prayut said.

Although Vorayuth cannot be charged with speeding or reckless driving causing property damage because the statute of limitations for those offences has expired, there are still two valid charges that could be prosecuted, he said.

Those charges are reckless driving resulting in a death, which has a 15-year statute of limitations, and refusing to stop to help a victim, which has a five-year statute of limitations that expires in September. The first offence carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

Around 100 members of the People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-move) yesterday met with Minister Ormsin Chivapruck and related agencies to discuss and find mutually beneficial solutions to address people’s chronic problems regarding forced relocation and land loss nationwide.

After travelling 800 kilometres from Krabi to Bangkok, 80-year-old farmer Rieng Khongthum looked weary from the long journey, but she said her feelings could not compare to the fatigue from a decade-long unsettled dispute over 15 rai (2.4 hectares) of land with authorities from the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park.

“My home and my rubber plantation were all destroyed in August 2014. I have no land and I have no home now. I can only fight to take my land back,” Rieng said.

“This has had a big impact on the final stage of my life, as I lost my home, my land and my income. I have to live with my relatives, but since I have no income, I have many debts.”

Rieng’s was one of 30 households on 359 rai of land in Krabi’s Muang District that were forced out.

She said she and other community members had fought for their land in the disputed forestland for nearly 15 years, but no progress had been made despite her claim that people had occupied the land since 1967, long before the establishment of the national park.

The situation worsened when the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took power and initiated the forest reclamation policy, which led to authorisation to clear entire plantations and structures in disputed areas.

“I have come to Bangkok several times to fight for my rights to my own land. I hope that this time the government will understand the burden of the people and sincerely solve poor people’s problems,” she said. “I still hope that I can regain my land before I die.”

Due to the delayed progress, P-move yesterday issued a statement urging the government to expedite policies to solve people’s land-related problems by establishing a land bank and issuing communal land deeds.

The group also asked the government to stop further actions that would harm people’s livelihoods, such as forest reclamation, and postpone projects that would have a significant impact on communities, such as the Tak Special Economic Zone.

PM’s Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck said at the meeting that authorities understood people’s hardships, adding that he would report to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to find mutually agreeable solutions to the problems.