Thap Lan land dispute 90% resolved, says minister Suchart - Bangkok Post

A backhoe is operated to demolish a building in the Thap Lan National Park. (Photo: Natural Resources and Environment Ministry) Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin has ordered officials to speed up efforts to resolve the long-running land dispute in Thap Lan National Park, saying the process is 80-90% complete as the government seeks to balance residents' rights with forest conservation.

During a visit to Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday, Mr Suchart reviewed progress on boundary adjustments, land ownership verification and law enforcement in Thap Lan National Park.

He said the government, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, was treating the issue as a priority and had instructed officials to examine each case individually. Cases in which residents could be helped within the legal framework should be resolved promptly, while offenders must face fair and impartial legal action.

The guiding principle was to ensure that "people can live and forests can survive", he said, adding that the government aimed to restore lawful residential rights to more than 30,000 people in line with a resolution by the National Park Committee.

The government was also urgently exploring ways to help 23 villagers who had faced prosecution under national park legislation.

Regarding land held by investors outside Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) zones, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Royal Forest Department would work together to ensure boundaries were properly adjusted in accordance with the law, Mr Suchart said.

Department director-general Yongyut Nakviroj said officials had divided the disputed areas into five categories to facilitate detailed examination.

They were speeding up checks against existing records of land claims submitted by residents, covering 20,294 people and 27,951 plots spanning more than 204,010 rai.