Park department closes 2 'intruder' resorts

Park department closes 2 'intruder' resorts

Authorities at Pasapada Resort in Kanchanaburi province on Wednesday. Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen
Authorities at Pasapada Resort in Kanchanaburi province on Wednesday. Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen

Authorities raided two resorts in a national park in Kanchanaburi on Wednesday and pressed charges of forest encroachment against state officials who owned the properties.

Thewin Meesap, chief of Khao Laem National Park in Kanchanaburi province, said a Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation forest team joined military and police in raiding the resorts. Both were immediately closed down.

The raid team found , owned by a senior military officer, with 21 buildings was constructed on five rai confirmed to be in the forest park zone, he said.

The other resort, Kratom Rim Than Resort, owned by a local teacher, consisted of 15 buildings which covered two rai of the national park, he added.

The chief said the owners of the resorts were not at the properties, but authorities knew who owned them and have filed complaints with police.

The team also would investigate large-scale farms and temples in the area, he said, adding at least five temples are being examined as to whether they have been built beyond the permitted areas and also encroached in the forest zone.

Previously, the department had a policy of granting conditional rights for temples in forests, which stipulate the precise location of the temple.

But many of them gradually expanded beyond their permitted areas.

In another development, Sunsern Aggutamanus, secretary-general of the Agricultural Land Reform Office, said another five land developers in Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai had refused to return land to the office after the prime minister applied his Section 44 powers under the interim charter to confiscate Sor Por Kor lands meant for agricultural purposes only.

The new cases include 855 rai from the Chiang Mai Thanathon company, 5,042 rai from Chiang Mai Mitkaset company, 514 rai from Mae Kha Mitkaset company and another 531 rai and 600 rai from two unknown owners in Chiang Rai province.

Currently, 429 developers have refused to hand over 436,078 rai of Sor Por Kor land.

He said that there are only two cases where developers have agreed to return land to the office, comprising 1,263 rai in Kanchanaburi province and 1,160 rai in Surat Thani province.

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