Ruling sought on forest row

Ruling sought on forest row

The Council of State will be asked to rule on a land ownership dispute between Thap Lan National Park and the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro).

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation will ask for the ruling, Mingquan Wichayarangsaridh, deputy permanent secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, said yesterday.

The ministry, acting on the department's behalf, wants the Council of State to determine the borders of the national park so it can introduce steps to protect the forest from encroachment.

The disputed area covers some 50,000 rai in tambon Thai Samakki of Wang Nam Khieo district and Pak Thong Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Most of this area has been turned into a resort zone.

Alro declared the area as a Sor Por Kor land reform zone in 1978 and the national park declared it a national park area three years later, which imposes more restrictions on uses.

A source at the park said the area is not connected with 429 forest encroachment cases brought by the department, more than half of which have been subject to judicial review.

Of these, only 27 cases have been settled with the department partially demolishing structures. The source said the department needs an extra 3 million baht to clear the 27 illegal resorts and properties.

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