10 more resorts ordered out

10 more resorts ordered out

Ten more resorts have been ordered demolished for being illegally built on forest reserve land in Thap Lan National Park, bringing the total number of resorts to be dismantled to 25.

Twoofficials of the Royal Forest Department in Nakhon Ratchasima inspect a forest area inWangNamKhieo district where illegal resorts have been built. PATTANAPONGHIRUNARD

The resorts are in both Wang Nam Khieo district of Nakhon Ratchasima and Na Di district of Prachin Buri.

The Thap Lan National Park office yesterday posted a copy of the official order to demolish the illegal buildings at 10 more resorts located in both provinces, said Thap Lan National Park chief Thewin Meesap yesterday.

So far, only one resort owner had contacted the office to say he would remove the resort buildings by himself.

The Royal Forest Department (RFD) has also sought court approval to search 22 resorts in the Khao Pang Ma area in Wang Nam Khieo allegedly built on public land, said the provincial forest department chief Suthep Pawareswithayaran yesterday.

RFD officials yesterday accompanied an army of reporters to inspect 22 resorts and holiday houses in the Khao Pang Ma area.

Pusit Bhrommanop, the director of the RFD's forest land management division in Nakhon Ratchasima, said an investigation was under way to find whether the owners had acquired the land before Pa Khao Pu Luang was declared a forest reserve.

"If so, they will be allowed to stay until the [next] government comes up with a clear policy [about the issue]," said Mr Pusit.

He added that the survey found that 485 families had lived in the zone before the forest reserve was declared.

Maneewan Saengchan, who lives in a Khao Pang Ma village, said she was concerned about the forest officials' raids on the resorts and vacation houses allegedly built in the forest reserve.

'They didn't encroach on the forest reserve as there was a clear area between the forest and the living zone.

"We sold the land to them [the resort operators] since we couldn't make a living from only planting crops.

"We needed to sell the land so that we would have the money to pay off our huge debts," she said.

In another development, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission said yesterday it would launch an investigation into alleged encroachment on more than 3,000 rai of public land in Sung Noen district.

The commission would next week go to the district to inspect the Sor Por Kor title deeds issued to the current owners of land plots which were suspected of being issued unlawfully, said Ampon Wongsiri, secretary-general of the PACC.

A preliminary investigation by the PACC showed more than 1,200 rai of the land was rented out to villagers and the land was owned by relatives of certain local politicians, he said.

The scope of the PACC's investigation into the alleged land encroachment extended to the role of the government officials who were probably involved in unlawfully issuing the title deeds, he said.

The PACC would also send another team to investigate an alleged land encroachment case in Prachin Buri's Prachantakham district where at least 22 plots of land were illegally owned, said Mr Ampon.He said title deeds had unlawfully been issued to the owners of the land and they must be revoked. But the revocation process had not made much progress so far for reasons that the PACC would have to determine.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~