DSI probes 'Chinese land buy'

DSI probes 'Chinese land buy'

Illegal farming alleged on 1,200 rai of land

A Chinese businessman's purchase of state-owned land in Kanchanaburi will be subject to an urgent Department of Special Investigation (DSI) probe today.

Citing complaints from Dan Makhamtei district inhabitants, deputy DSI director-general Prawut Wongseenin said yesterday he will inspect the area himself to get first-hand information.

Claims had come to light that locals had encroached on up to 1,200 rai of state land, some of which was sold illegally to the businessman by the villagers who do not possess title over the land.

It is still unclear how many plots of land have been passed on from the villager encroachers to the businessman.

The land, currently overseen by the Treasury Department, is the location of fruit plantations, growing mangos, lemons and pitayas, for export to China, according to an initial DSI investigation.

Dan Makhamtei is just one area where encroachment has been reported, as similar problems are believed to be occurring in many districts in Kanchaburi, Pol Lt Col Prawut said.

Despite the alleged wrongdoing, local officials claim they are unaware of the situation. The tambon administration organisations in some areas have continued to collect taxes from the encroachers, probably due to outdated information. "But such actions only legitimise [illegal] land usage," Pol Lt Col Prawut said.

Provincial authorities have informed local administrative bodies of the problems, but Pol Lt Col Prawut has no idea why the tax collection continues.

According to the investigation, Dan Makhamtei district, which borders Myanmar, was once declared as a security area. Largely covered by forests, the land was reserved for military purposes.

The declaration was later abandoned and many Dan Makhamtei areas have been under Treasury Department supervision. But they have been allegedly trespassed upon by villagers.

Under the law on state property management, state-owned land is not strictly off-limits to farming, but villagers have to follow legal procedures to rent it from the Treasury Department, Pol Lt Col Prawut said.

A land lease contract should be applied as a legal measure to prevent encroachment and encourage villagers to occupy the land legally, he said.

"DSI and other agencies must jointly draw up a land usage model for these purposes," Pol Lt Col Prawut said.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana has asked the DSI to postpone its plan to inspect another land encroachment case in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district because the province is hosting a cabinet meeting later this month, according a ministry source.

The minister does not want to see an "issue of conflict" occur when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the province on Aug 22, the source said.

But the DSI can continue its probe into 4,000 rai of state-owned land over which officials allegedly issued illegal land documents. The investigation followed complaints to the Justice Ministry in 2015 over alleged irregularities under the Chok Chai 3 land development project.

The matter includes the issuance of land documents outside the Lam Takhong self-help settlement, which is reserved for landless farmers.

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