Despite losing a legal battle over the ownership of a one-rai plot of land, Phra Phayom Kalayano, well-known abbot of Wat Suan Kaeo which is at the centre of the dispute, insists there is no urgent need to vacate the area yet.
Phra Phayom said he received advice from a lawyer that the occupants of the disputed land can stay on until an eviction notice is served, even though the owner told them to leave by the end of this month.
The land is currently occupied by a worker, who is entrusted by Wat Suan Kaeo to take care of the land, and his family.
The temple is preparing accommodation for them after it lost the court battle over the plot, he said.
Phra Phayom also allayed concerns the temple itself faces eviction as the dispute involved only one rai of land, not the entire site.
Wat Suan Kaeo has bought several plots of land covering a combined 3,900 rai across the country to run development projects for the poor.
The disputed land is a one-rai plot in front of the entrance of the temple that the Suan Kaeo Foundation, a non-profit organisation under the temple, bought from a local woman, Wanthana Suksamroeng, for 10 million baht in 2004.
Ms Wanthana claimed she acquired the plot through adverse possession, which allows those who have stayed on the land for over 10 years to claim ownership.
Chamnong Hiranpradit, heir of Thongyu Hiranpradit, whom Mr Chamnong insisted is the real landlord, contested the ownership of the land almost three years after the purchase.
The court subsequently ruled in favour of Mr Chamnong and revoked the temple ownership held by Ms Wanthana.
Phra Phayom said on Sunday the foundation decided to fight the case because it suspected irregularities and mistreatment.
The monk said he found it incomprehensible that officials who produced and issued the title deed to Ms Wanthana have not been brought to account.