National Park Office director Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn is calling on the cabinet to review a cabinet resolution dated on March 14, 2023, concerning the demarcation of a 265,000-rai boundary at the Thap Lan National Park.
Mr Chaiwat said on Saturday he believes the cabinet will revise its stance on the proposal as it faced backlash from many locals during a hearing on the matter.
He said an online public hearing held recently to talk about the redesignation of 265,000 rai of land at Thap Lan National Park had 947,107 participants, the highest number of participants of any public hearings ever conducted by the government.
Mr Chaiwat on Saturday unveiled the results of an online poll conducted between June 28 and July 12 to ask participants for their opinions on the proposal to change the national park's boundary line, which was approved by the cabinet on March 14 last year.
He said a total of 947,107 people expressed their opinions in the hearings, with 901,892 of them (95.2%) opposing the proposal and the other 45,215 (4.8%) approving it.
The proposal will result in Thap Lan National Park losing a 265,000-rai piece of land, which is settled by local communities. It was initiated by the previous government, which claimed the plan would end an overlap between the national park's land and state-owned land.
Mr Chaiwat said recent online public hearings about the matter had the highest number of participants in the history of public hearings conducted by a state agency.
"In the name of the forest's protector, I'd like to thank the people for trusting us and for all their votes in favour of the forest and its animals. Thank you for upholding the right thing." he said.
Meanwhile, Chokedee Poralokanont, former leader of a group of villagers who were trying to restore 10,000 rai of Thap Lan National Park's land in tambon Thaisamakkhi in Nakhon Ratchasima's Wang Nam Khieo district, posted on Facebook on Saturday following the release of the result of public hearings to express his regret about his leadership in the past.
He said he was among the people who contributed to the transition of the Thaisamakkhi community from an agricultural society to an urban one in 1997, adding that he regretted his action as the government allowed newcomers to the land to use it for development.
Chaiwat: Cabinet will revise stance