Land rows delay Koh
Chang plan - May 10, 2005
Koh Chang, Trat _ The government's plan to develop Koh Chang
into a world-class tourism destination has been hindered by land rights
conflicts between local residents and the Designated Area for Sustainable
Tourism Administration (Dasta) and forestry authorities.
To realise the plan, which was launched in 2003, the government set up Dasta,
a public organisation led by Plodprasop Suraswadi, an assistant to the PM's
Office, to draft a tourism development blueprint and integrate work between
relevant agencies to reclaim forest land and public beaches from
encroachers.
Bamroong Ruamsap, president of Koh Chang Iyara Development Co and a member
of Koh Chang's civil group, said land disputes between government agencies
and tourism operators had grown since the government launched the Koh Chang
tourism development project.
He alleged forestry officers, who work for Dasta, had destroyed a villager's
orchard and filed charges against several land occupiers, regardless of the
fact the plots had been legally obtained or the owners had lived there
before the land was designated as part of Moo Koh Chang national park.
"Most locals refuse to cooperate with Dasta and forestry officers because
they always unfairly seize our land,'' said Mr Bamroong, adding there was
concern over lack of transparency.
"We have evidence that the officers want to seize public land for their own
interests,'' he said, accusing forestry officers of destroying a villager's
orange grove to develop lodging houses in the park area.
Meanwhile, Chokamnuay Surayothee, a business operator on Koh Chang ,
submitted a complaint to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry,
accusing Dasta's senior officer of illegally obtaining title deeds to a land
plot on one of Koh Chang's satellite islands.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat
threatened to take back land plots that were illegally occupied.
He also set up a panel to look into alleged irregularities in the issuance
of fake land documents. Any officials found to have been involved in the
unlawfully issuance of ownership papers would face legal and disciplinary
action, he said.
Mr Yongyuth, who inspected the eastern resort island in Trat province over
the weekend, expressed concern over slow progress of the government's Koh
Chang sustainable tourism development initiative, saying the development
blueprint was supposed to have been done since last year. "It seems Dasta
has made very little progress over the past three years,'' he said.
The minister ordered relevant government agencies to cross-check each other
to plug legal loopholes and get rid of corrupt officials.
Tanya Hanpol, acting director-general of Dasta, said government agencies'
failure to confiscate public land from encroachers and the time-consuming
legal process were to blame for the agency's poor performance.
There are at present 135 encroachment cases, both in the park and on public
land, covering 1,515 rai, causing over 129 million baht loss to the
government.
The park is currently taking legal action against 12 encroachers.
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