Phetchabun — Authorities have agreed to set out a master plan to crack down on encroachment, shoddy building work and improper land use at Phu Thap Boek, the mountain tourist attraction in Phetchabun.
Provincial officials and representatives from the Royal Forest Department and the Social Development and Welfare Department met Thursday in Phetchabun to discuss what to do about increasing development on Phu Thap Boek.
Chonlatid Suraswadi, chief of the Royal Forest Department, said a committee would come up with a management plan to better administer an area containing 62 resorts covering more than 1,000 rai on Phu Thap Boek.
The management plan will be completed in three months, he said.
Under the plan, the Social Development and Welfare Department will be in charge of verifying whether the resort owners are hilltribe people who are entitled to make use of the land.
Those who are not entitled to occupy the land will face legal action and evictions.
In 1966, the government gave the Social Development and Welfare Department permission to use about 47,000 rai of land on Phu Thap Boek as resettlement areas for Hmong hilltribe people, drawn from various provinces of the country.
Phu Thap Boek is the highest peak in Phetchabun province. It is also home to the largest cabbage plantation in the country.
After the peak became popular among tourists, welfare-allotted land began to change hands as more resorts were built. Before long, problems of overcrowding, inadequate water supplies and garbage mounted.
Some 62 resorts have been built in the area without proper official oversight.
Mr Chonlatid said the management plan will include zoning of areas for agriculture and houses, tourism and a forest buffer zone.
He said the Royal Forest Department is in the process of evicting 10 resort operators following a court judgement that found them guilty of land encroachment.
"We will take immediate legal action with any new cases," he said.
Narong Kongkam, deputy director-general of the Social Development and Welfare Department, said his department's main priority is to take care of 4,124 Hmong families living on Phu Thap Boek.
He said local participation is important in developing the master plan and they must abide by the same regulations as anyone else.
Also on Thursday, Choke Kaewthong, 50, owner of Rim Than Resort, one of the 10 resorts declared illegal, submitted a petition appealing against his eviction to the Royal Forest Department chief, who visited the area.
Bundit Theveethaivarak, governor of Phetchabun province, said a team of engineers had inspected the 62 resorts, many of which were constructed without approval.
The inspection results are expected to be known in the next two weeks, he said.
Mr Bundit said the prime concern is whether the buildings were structurally safe as most of them were constructed haphazardly.
Any building which is found to be unsafe will be demolished or reconstructed, he said.
"After we get the results, we will publish them on our website to allow the public to know which resorts are safe and unsafe.
"In an initial examination, we found many failed to comply with safety standards," he said.
Many resorts were constructed carelessly with thin supports in areas with steep gradients, he said.
These are at risk as the area has encountered landslides in the past, he said.
The governor said the province expects to announce new city planning rules soon. The rules will also include Phu Thap Boek.
The rules will also regulate the height, style and colour of buildings. The most important thing is that all future construction projects must be approved by the authorities, Mr Bundit said.