The announcement came at the monthly Governor Meets Media conference held yesterday (June 10) at Phuket Provincial Hall.
“This is urgent. Phuket is a beautiful island, but the illegal excavation of land has destroyed a lot of its greenery. It has to be stopped
“A list of all land that has been excavated illegally will be made by Mr Kasem and the land owners who have allowed this will be prosecuted. In addition, anything which is connected to the excavation of land [machinery etc] will be seized.
“Even if the owners have paperwork to confirm they own the land, it is not enough. They must have a permit which allows them to excavate it,” Gov Nisit said.
“Land around Phuket that has been, is being, or has plans to be excavated will have to be put on the Environment Office's profile with pictures of each plot specifying its location, type of land paper held, along with geographical data such as height, width, slope and effects on the neighbouring land.”
From now on, the governor said, the local OrBorTor (Tambon Administration Organisation) or local municipality will have to survey their areas to check all land that finished being excavated or is unfinished.
“I will issue a letter telling the local administration organisations to survey for illegal excavated land in their area, and to consider approving excavation permits very carefully and to follow the excavation act strictly.
“The provincial announcement about law enforcement for those excavating land illegally will be announced by Friday (June 12).”
The excavation act states that if the height of the land is more than three metres from the ground, or the size of the hole is bigger that 10,000 cubic meters, the land owner has to do an IEE (Initial Environmental Evaluation) and ask for approval to excavate the land from the local administration.
“Within five days of receiving of the proposal from the local authority, the owner will have to send a copy of it to the provincial excavation control and verification committee.
In any case where the land is 80 metres higher than the middle sea level or steeper 35 degrees excavation is illegal.
If any land is found to have been excavated illegally, the chief of the local administration will have to file a complaint against the land owner who will then be prosecuted. If they are not then the local authority will face being charged under section 157 of the criminal code.
Section 157 states that whoever, being an official, wrongfully exercises or does not exercise any of his functions to the injury of any person, or dishonestly exercises or omits to exercise any of his functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years or fined B2,000 to B20,000, or both.