Khao Yai Mess

[PeteC]

Local residents plus tourists planning high season holidays to the area better check their reservations. They may arrive and find their resort a pile of rubble.

Spitfire, can you pinpoint for us the geographical location of where the problem is, closer to the Korat or Saraburi side of the park? Pete



40 more resorts face no-entry order for 'illegal' construction
By The Nation
Published on July 22, 2011

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/07 ... 60870.html

There will be another 40 resorts allegedly built illegally in Thab Lan national park and Wang Nam Khieo area in Nakhon Ratchasima facing immediate actions and no-entry order, after the first eight have been denied service to clients, park chief Thewin Maneesap said yesterday.

"Posting of no-entry order at their premises will be done once verification of documents is complete in the next few days," he said.

Thewin said he had received phone calls threatening for his life following the Royal Forest Department crackdown on illegal and expansive land encroachment in both areas, especially after he posted the no-entry order at the eight resorts on Wednesday.

After the first deadline on October 30 following the restriction order, RFD is authorised to disassemble any resorts under restraints and repossess the land they were built on. Owners of the eight resorts have a 15-day time frame to appeal against the order, starting from Wednesday.

Wang Nam Khieo district chief Chaiyong Homphirom blamed bureaucratic redtapes and lack of communications between RFD and civilian authorities in designating areas where lands in both areas were allowed for farming under the Agricultural Land Reform [Office]scheme and private ownership.

He said the RFD crackdown was affecting booming local tourism in the entire province, especially at present when peak season was coming , while local economy in general permission became sluggish.

"Land encroachment in Wang Nam Khieo areas have long occurred and extensive for years. Using both laws and soft measures would be needed to solve this problem," he said, implying possible pardon or compromises between authorities and resort owners and encroachers.

ALRO secretary-general Lertwiroj Kowatthana blamed shortage of staff as a reason for purchase of restricted land by developers from farmers who leased them in long-term contracts with ALRO, through obscure ownership document.

He said 140,000 rai, out of the total area of 1.3 million rai in both park and Wang Nam Khieo areas, had been distributed to 6,400 farmers, and that verification to prove their existing farming was underway, and those who sold or transfer the land in violation of ALRO contracts would saw eviction.

The lack of criminal prosecution under ALRO law against such farmers selling land or giving ownership to others is another reason to blame, according to Lertwiroj. To tackle the problem drastically, legal amendments to several regulations are needed to arm ALRO with authorities enforcing arrests and criminal investigaiton, he added.

There is another 60,000 rai encroached on by construction of resorts and other developments, according to Thewin.

An activist representing local villagers, Witchu Chuppawa, said a land encrochament scheme, even at a larger scale, has been extensive in Pak Chong district and areas adjacent near Khao Yai, exploiting similar legal loopholes and redtape.

He called on RFD and authorities to carry out large-scale inspections of water catchment areas adjacent to Pak Chong land because they could not trap rain and flood water well like they used to, in preparation to prevent flash flood in the near future.

[Takiap]

In my opinion......congratulations to the RFD for clamping down. If somebody has had the cheek to illegally build a resort on land inside a national park, then they deserve having their premises knocked down. It's just a shame it's been allowed to carry on for so long.

[Spitfire]

Think there are quite a few areas around the national park where people are encroaching on the land but mainly it's going to be near the Korat side and Pak Chong areas as the land in general will be more valuable.

Wang Nam Khieo.....

This place is about 60km from Korat on the Pak Thong Chai road that leads off past the Korat zoo and can be followed all the way, over the mountain range, to Pattaya/Chon Buri if so desired. This place Wang Nam Khieo has become a super desirable area with land reaching very expensive prices now, much sort after by Thais and foreigners alike.

The other problem with this subject of land around the national park is that a lot of it has been sold to people by unscrupulous officials and public figures at very cheap prices without a real chanote, then people are trying to register it or just simply fence it off and build on it.

Hence the Forestry Department's ire on the matter as it's a huge problem with thousands of Thais claiming private ownership etc over the land.

It's rather a shame that the national park is not receiving any respect for it's borders, but the locals see it as a business opportunity, although illegal, and a chance to grab land/self enrich etc. The government has also threatened to repossess any land bought through unorthodox ways that doesn't have a real chanote.

The Forestry Department chief certainly has nuts as there must be some powerful people with business interests in this plus some powerful people that could be brought to book for selling/being involved in it in the first places or instigating this mess. From the report he has already had death threats and he's only just started.

Like many other things like this, it's a scam that those big people who started it have already got rich and are long gone, this one turned out into a bit of a tidal wave of a land grab by all and sundry.

Some action is long overdue and booking holidays at these small resorts is definitely a risk.