The 2nd Army is set to reclaim more than 800 rai of forest land from encroachers in Nakhon Ratchasima's Prathai district.
District chief Piansak Prapakorn and Col Sommai Bussaba, a member of the 2nd Army’s legal team, yesterday led officials to inspect forest areas in tambon Han Huay Sai.
Their visit followed complaints that a number of locals from three villages have been encroaching on just over 800 rai of forest for more than a decade. Title deeds issued to some of the residents allegedly overlap with forest areas.
The inspection found around 400 rai of the encroached land was being used to grow rice.
Col Sommai said he has ordered officials to reclaim the land from the illegal rice farmers immediately. He has also asked local authorities to launch an investigation into the distribution of the land documents. If title deeds are found to have been issued unlawfully, the documents will be revoked, he said.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) is meanwhile seeking a Council of State ruling on whether it can act against a group of investors responsible for encroaching on almost 4,000 rai of land in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Amlo chief Seehanat Prayoonrat said the agency will immediately seize the assets of the investors if the Council of State agrees they violated laws relating to the exploitation of natural resources for commercial gain.
The 2nd Army earlier asked Amlo to examine the assets and financial transactions of the group, which is accused of turning 3,900 rai of forest into sugarcane plantations over a period of 20 years.
The investors include Ammarin “Sia Kang” Yusukdee, a well-known hotelier from Pak Thong Chai district. Local residents Sompote Srimai and Songchai Paesungnoen have also been implicated.
Amlo has already seized farm trucks and sugarcane harvesting vehicles from the investors. The equipment was being kept at Surathampithak military camp in the northeastern province.
Col Sommai said the National Council for Peace and Order must keep martial law in place, or else all state efforts to reclaim encroached forest would go to waste. He estimated Mr Ammarin and his associates had made more than three billion baht from exploiting natural resources since 1992.