PHUKET: In the second switch in a month, the gung-ho director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Damrong Pidech, has appointed a new Phuket national park director.
A deadline of September 15 has been set for 10 Phuket resorts under investigation for alleged park encroachment to prove their ownership and innocence.
Phuket's Sirinath National Park has a new overseer - Cheewapad Cheewatam from Isarn. O-pas Nonmangsor, in the role for less than a month, was suddenly transferred.
Khun O-pas was brought in from Phang Nga to replace Jirapon Amkam.
Asked yesterday about the swift double-switch of park chiefs, Khun Damrong, popularly known as ''The Demolisher,'' said: ''You have to be brave.''
Khun Damrong yesterday checked out more of the large, expensive resort properties bordering Phuket's Sirinath National Park, including the five-star Trisara.
He has already toured the equally luxurious Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach, which is due to open in time for the Phuket tourism high season.
Another resort believed to be subject to further investigation is the West Sands Resort and Villas, developed by a company headed by former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy but now home to a Centara Grand, one of two on Phuket.
All of the companies owning posh resorts bordering the park have so far rejected all allegations of impropriety and said developments of their resorts have followed the law.
Khun Damrong, who is waging a campaign to pursue encroachers throughout Thailand, has put the onus of proof back on the people who claim title to the valuable properties.
He has 10 teams of investigators each working on the developments, with a lucky draw selecting which officers got what projects. None of the investigators is from Phuket.
He said latest research shows that each of the developers will need to produce a signed authority from the Forests Department granting acceptance of the legitimacy of the Phuket property titles.
''They will need to go to a court and produce evidence,'' he said. ''We intend to take them all to court.
''If we lose, so be it. If we win, the properties involved - no matter what they are worth - will be demolished.''
A deadline of September 15 has been set for 10 Phuket resorts under investigation for alleged park encroachment to prove their ownership and innocence.
Phuket's Sirinath National Park has a new overseer - Cheewapad Cheewatam from Isarn. O-pas Nonmangsor, in the role for less than a month, was suddenly transferred.
Khun O-pas was brought in from Phang Nga to replace Jirapon Amkam.
Asked yesterday about the swift double-switch of park chiefs, Khun Damrong, popularly known as ''The Demolisher,'' said: ''You have to be brave.''
Khun Damrong yesterday checked out more of the large, expensive resort properties bordering Phuket's Sirinath National Park, including the five-star Trisara.
He has already toured the equally luxurious Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach, which is due to open in time for the Phuket tourism high season.
Another resort believed to be subject to further investigation is the West Sands Resort and Villas, developed by a company headed by former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy but now home to a Centara Grand, one of two on Phuket.
All of the companies owning posh resorts bordering the park have so far rejected all allegations of impropriety and said developments of their resorts have followed the law.
Khun Damrong, who is waging a campaign to pursue encroachers throughout Thailand, has put the onus of proof back on the people who claim title to the valuable properties.
He has 10 teams of investigators each working on the developments, with a lucky draw selecting which officers got what projects. None of the investigators is from Phuket.
He said latest research shows that each of the developers will need to produce a signed authority from the Forests Department granting acceptance of the legitimacy of the Phuket property titles.
''They will need to go to a court and produce evidence,'' he said. ''We intend to take them all to court.
''If we lose, so be it. If we win, the properties involved - no matter what they are worth - will be demolished.''
Keep up the good work khun Damrong, you will be busy for a very long time if all encroachment is to be eradicated.
Posted by Bjarne on August 16, 2012 13:25