Thai Officials Team Up To Fight Encroachers

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Officials team up to fight encroachers

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

The Royal Forest Department (RFD) is teaming up with Nakhon Ratchasima province's governor and other agencies to strictly enforce the law against developers who encroach on forest reserves in Wang Nam Kheow district.

"From now we will work step by step to bring wrongdoers into the judicial process and remove them from forest reserves," RFD's directorgeneral Suwit Rattanamanee said yesterday.

The move comes after a meeting between the RFD and Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Governor Rapee Phongbupakit and officials yesterday in an attempt to resolve the landencroachment problem.

The RFD will take legal action against the first 22 developers who allegedly encroached on forest reserves in Wang Nam Kheow district and will continue to investigate other land intruders in the area.

" Local officials will cooperate with the RFD to take legal action against wrongdoers. If not, we would face disciplinary punishment for negligence of our duty," Rapee said.

Previously the Nakhon Ratchasima province governor had proposed agencies allow intruders to rent the encroached on land instead of taking legal action against them.

Suwit said the RFD would step forward to file criminal and civil lawsuits against the 22 developers. The department is now waiting for the court's order to issue search warrants to find out more evidence and measure the position of each resort to verify that resorts and private homes are clearly built on Wang Nam Kheow's forest reserves.

Meanwhile, a group of 30 residents of Wang Nam Kheow district have submitted an open letter to RFD's directorgeneral and other agencies, requesting they cease "strictly enforcing the law".

They also demand the government designate Wang Nam Kheow district as a special economic zone and promote ecotourism activities in the area.

" Government agencies should go ahead with neutral measures rather than strictly enforcing the law," Chun Srichaikirikosol, a member of Nakhon Ratchasima provincial council who led a group, said.

" We [local residents] had invested a lot of money to promote tourism activities," he said.

However, RFD officials on Wednesday conducted a survey trip to investigate land plots in forest reserves, accompanied by a media group.

The director of RFD's Forest Land Management Division, Phusit Prommanop, said most developers in Wang Nam Kheow district did not have legal title deeds or documents entitling them to occupy the forest reserves.

Most resorts and private houses are in zone C forest reserves, where individuals may not erect any structure unless a Cabinet regulation allows them to do so, he said.

Rapee added that local provincial officials will study legal provisions on whether or not local authorities can permit developers to conduct tourism activities on forest reserves.

Wang Nam Kheow land allocation

About 15,571 rai get title deeds

About 324,300 rai allocated as forest area

About 265,778 rai allocated to Land Reform Department

About 139,300 rai distributed among 6,412 landless farmers

About 125,354 rai classified under other category

Source: The Nation

-- The Nation 2011-08-05