Mountain resort operators defy demolition order

>> PHETCHABUN: Deputy governor Krit Khongmuang yesterday shrugged off the latest demands of Phu Thap Boek resort operators who say they want the province to delay the demolition of their establishments.

Mr Krit, who heads a provincial committee to deal with illegal land occupation on Phu Thap Boek in Phetchabun’s Lom Kao district, said yesterday authorities will continue doing their job.

The provincial committee to tackle illegal land occupation at Phu Thap Boek is adamant about carrying out the order by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Mr Krit said. He said authorities have vowed to go ahead with the demolition of 13 more illegal resorts at the popular mountain attraction after their owners defied an order to dismantle them.

Resort owners and Hmong people living on the mountain asked authorities to delay the enforcement of order No.35/59 targeting illegal resorts in Lom Kao district.

“The 13 remaining resorts fail to meet the qualifications set by the Social Development and Welfare Department on land use,” Mr Krit said.

“The case is being considered by public prosecutors. If the prosecutors decide to forward the case to the Lom Sak provincial court, the panel will put up a notice for resort owners to dismantle their resorts within 30 days.

“After the deadline, they will be given another seven days to vacate the land. If they still ignore the warning, officials will be sent to knock down the resorts and impose the cost of demolition on them.”

Earlier, the owners of the 13 resorts, led by Yupparat Bang-in, a former Democrat MP for Phetchabun, petitioned provincial authorities to delay enforcing the order, claiming it was unlawful as Phu Thap Boek was not a forest area.

This prompted the Royal Forestry Department to counter the claim, insisting that the mountain attraction was forest land.

Mr Yupparat then led the resort owners to petition the Democrat Party for help. Lom Kao district chief Somluck Yoknoiwong later invited them to explain why their facilities had to be dismantled.

For the 50 resorts owned by Hmong people, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry was seeking cabinet approval for the relaxation of the order, Mr Krit said.

If the cabinet does not agree, the provincial panel would dismantle them, he said.

Royal Forest Department deputy chief Attaporn Charoenchansa said the department is working under the provincial committee to maintain the same timeline, which means the operation will go ahead.