Thai Park Officials To Ban Entry To Resorts Built Illegally

[webfact]

Park Officials To Ban Entry To Resorts Built On State

By THE NATION

'No entry' signs will be posted today at 22 resorts suspected of being built illegally in the Wang Nam Khieo area of Nakhon Ratchasima, pending investigations early next month.

The action may eventually subject owners and developers of the resorts to halt operations and possibly demolish their properties, Thewin Meesap, Thap Lan National Park's chief of operations, whose jurisdiction covers the Wang Nam Khieo area, said yesterday.

Owners can challenge the 'no entry' order through lawsuits but they must be lodged in 30 days, he said, adding that the posting of signs was scheduled at 8 am.

Thewin said he and his forest rangers were braced for protests by some owners, or others who rallied recently against the Royal Forest Department's planned crackdown.

Thewin said encroachments in Wang Nam Khieo area numbered in the "hundreds" and would be dealt with after the verification of evidence and assessment of possible criminal intent.

RFD director-general Suwit Rattanamanee warned anyone planning to purchase land in Wang Nam Khieo - attracted by decreasing prices following the RFD crackdown - they could eventually face legal action for buying stolen property.

A workshop has been arranged by the RFD in Saraburi to explain to villagers and business owners about new borders between reserved areas and those where they can farm and operate businesses.

The workshop, aimed at preventing accidental or intentional encroachment, also featured details of new and old areas where farming and business operations were both permitted and prohibited. Amendments to existing directives would be made later, the provincial RFD office said.

In Phitsanulok, forest rangers and military officers raided a 100-rai area in Nakhon Thai district and seized felled logs and chainsaws along with other equipment used in illegal logging, without making arrests or finding anyone on the site.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

[renaissanc]

If they really demolish the resorts and other houses, it will send a strong message to all corrupt politicians and land department officials. Hopefully, they will go after the corrupt officials and politicians.

At last, their corruption is being linked to the devastating flooding!

[kumsamut]

road construction commission is range from 30-40%

[newermonkey]

Presumably the ban will not apply to police, politicians and forestry vip owners.

What about Pearl Village at Nai Yang National Park will they knock it down or is the owner untouchable?

Edited July 20, 2011 by newermonkey

[johncat1]

These resorts were not built overnight so why weren't they stopped as soon as construction started ?

Maybe they forgot to pay someone in the forestry department the rent ?

Forget the " No Entry " signs just set up checkpoints and charge a very high fee for entry and refund this fee to people who leave within a short time and do not stay at the resorts

Edited July 20, 2011 by johncat1

[tomross46]

According to Phue Thai Deputy Leader Plodprasod Surasawadi, he confiscated this land while he was chief of the RFD and ALRO but that property is now owned by the same developer. Ho w can this happen? Did the developer pay some one off?

[ableguy]

Not a chance in a million too many Hi So involved.

[Foggy Bottom]

Nobody spotted that the target district is Wang Nam Khieo 70km SOUTH of Korat, and that the briefing for land owners is in Saraburi 200Km WEST of Korat ... seems to me Saraburi was chosen to be convenient for absentee land owners / resort operators based in Bangkok, rather than the owner/operator/occupiers based in Wang Nam Khieo.

Kind of blows the credibility of the whole crackdown, don't you think?

[Johpa]

How about tearing down other resorts seemingly built on public land such as the Phuket Yacht Club on Nai Harn or the Four Seasons resort up north of Chiang Mai.

[webfact]

Resorts on Korat parkland ordered shut

By THE NATION

Operators bemoan lost profit, vow to petition court

Eight resorts in Nakhon Ratchasima's Thab Lan National Park were yesterday ordered to cease operations for alleged illegal encroachment, pending demolition by October.

"No entry" orders were posted on the premises of Krissawan Ranch and Kullavanich Home, while the six other resorts were given orders before receiving documents validating the prohibition today.

Both resorts cooperated with the posting of closure orders and were told they could lodge an appeal within 15 days, or they would have to tear down their structures and move out by October 30, park chief Thewin Meesab said.

About 70,000 rai (11,200 hectares) of parkland had been occupied illegally, he said without giving the total park area. Wikipedia puts it at about 2,236 square kilometres, including parts in Prachin Buri province.

Many owners committed the violations unintentionally but a large number did it knowingly, he said.

Land encroachment is widespread in Nakhon Ratchasima including areas connecting Thab Lan National Park and Wang Nam Kheow, which are being inspected by the Forestry Department to evict any illegal businesses, he said. There are many other resorts in both areas facing similar action.

Tourism operators in the Northeastern province said the crackdown on illegal resorts in the Wang Nam Kheow area had cost them Bt30 million a day in lost profits.

Samer Jindaphong, chief of the local tourism business association, said he could guarantee that no illegal activities were committed by the operators, or resort owners. He blamed the Forestry Department for inertia in seeking remedies against early encroachment as the reason for the extensive construction of resorts.

Their investment and projects had helped bring money and prosperity to both the area and the province, he said.

The tourism operators called a meeting hours after the no-entry signs were posted and decided to petition the Central Administrative Court for an injunction against the department's offensive.

In the meeting, Samer asked the department's representatives why Wang Nam Kheow locals were not allowed to flourish through tourism and the resort business.

"Does the department want them to make a living as farmers or growing corn all their lives?" he asked.

"Why are schools, government offices, banks and even the district office itself, which I know are in areas where the authorities' ownership of them is still obscure, allowed to be built and stay there?"

Chaiyong Homphirom, chief of Wang Nam Kheow district, said the areas had been developed and now had completely become a resort town, and farming under a short-term permit from the department should be aborted in the near future.

The House of Representatives committee on natural resources and environment invited the department's director-general and the Nakhon Ratchasima governor to testify next Tuesday over both of their responsibilities and roles in handling the intrusion.

-- The Nation 2011-07-21

[KKK]

Land encroachment is rife in this country. My neigbors have turned the public footpath outside their houses into gardens making it very difficult for the electric and water meter men to read their meters. Little people following the examples set by the big ones.

[BobGecko]

Here is the big lie. The officials from Forest Department talk about "encroachment", so people think of people illegally occupying land in a National Park. It's not the case ! It's farmers who decided that growing corn or cassava was not a profitable activity (People talked enough about that during the last election) and instead of waiting for government's handouts or subsidies decided to build a resort or sell to a person willing to do it. It was understood, as the article said, that the land titles will be amended to reflect this evolution. Which basically means the Forest Department will lose the control over the area. It seems some officials are not ready for that. Why ?

In the meeting, Samer asked the department's representatives why Wang Nam Kheow locals were not allowed to flourish through tourism and the resort business.

Maybe it's time to remind the forest department they work for the country and not the other way around

Edited July 21, 2011 by BobGecko

[webfact]

ENVIRONMENT

40 more resorts face no-entry order for 'illegal' construction

By The Nation

There will be another 40 resorts allegedly built illegally in Thab Lan national park and Wang Nam Khieo area in Nakhon Ratchasima facing immediate actions and no-entry order, after the first eight have been denied service to clients, park chief Thewin Maneesap said yesterday.

"Posting of no-entry order at their premises will be done once verification of documents is complete in the next few days," he said.

Thewin said he had received phone calls threatening for his life following the Royal Forest Department crackdown on illegal and expansive land encroachment in both areas, especially after he posted the no-entry order at the eight resorts on Wednesday.

After the first deadline on October 30 following the restriction order, RFD is authorised to disassemble any resorts under restraints and repossess the land they were built on. Owners of the eight resorts have a 15-day time frame to appeal against the order, starting from Wednesday.

Wang Nam Khieo district chief Chaiyong Homphirom blamed bureaucratic redtapes and lack of communications between RFD and civilian authorities in designating areas where lands in both areas were allowed for farming under the Agricultural Land Reform [Office]scheme and private ownership.

He said the RFD crackdown was affecting booming local tourism in the entire province, especially at present when peak season was coming , while local economy in general permission became sluggish.

"Land encroachment in Wang Nam Khieo areas have long occurred and extensive for years. Using both laws and soft measures would be needed to solve this problem," he said, implying possible pardon or compromises between authorities and resort owners and encroachers.

ALRO secretary-general Lertwiroj Kowatthana blamed shortage of staff as a reason for purchase of restricted land by developers from farmers who leased them in long-term contracts with ALRO, through obscure ownership document.

He said 140,000 rai, out of the total area of 1.3 million rai in both park and Wang Nam Khieo areas, had been distributed to 6,400 farmers, and that verification to prove their existing farming was underway, and those who sold or transfer the land in violation of ALRO contracts would saw eviction.

The lack of criminal prosecution under ALRO law against such farmers selling land or giving ownership to others is another reason to blame, according to Lertwiroj. To tackle the problem drastically, legal amendments to several regulations are needed to arm ALRO with authorities enforcing arrests and criminal investigaiton, he added.

There is another 60,000 rai encroached on by construction of resorts and other developments, according to Thewin.

An activist representing local villagers, Witchu Chuppawa, said a land encrochament scheme, even at a larger scale, has been extensive in Pak Chong district and areas adjacent near Khao Yai, exploiting similar legal loopholes and redtape.

He called on RFD and authorities to carry out large-scale inspections of water catchment areas adjacent to Pak Chong land because they could not trap rain and flood water well like they used to, in preparation to prevent flash flood in the near future.

-- The Nation 2011-07-22

[moe666]

A piece of land with a couple of bamboo shacks is a resort.

[gerryBScot]

This enforcement action is very welcome from the perspective of saving Thailand's dwindling tiger population. The UK's Guardian Newspaper recently (May 2011) reported the amazing news that a considerable number (estimates of between 20-50) of tigers had been found in this National Park. The Park Authorities had considered tigers extinct in the park. The general view is that most of Thailand's remaining tigers are to be found in the western forest complex. You can read the article on this link which contains good photographs and is of interest in its own right.

[marquess]

Pretty good article and video film that goes with it.