The director of the Natural Resources Department in Phuket warned that any further work on filling in the lake may result in arrests.
The Mayor, who had previously showed some reluctance to take action, told The Phuket News yesterday, “I have already ordered Mr Boonkeng to stop by filing a complaint with the police. It’s up to him whether he wants to continue dumping landfill in the lake. First he has to submit an EIA [environmental impact assessment] for approval.
“If anyone sees that they are still working on the site, please contact the police and tell us when the trucks are there.
“We can’t send people to watch 24 hour a day because we would have to pay overtime to the officers, and we don’t have the budget for that.”
The mayor’s complaint to the police comes after pressure from Governor Maitri Inthusut, who told representatives of a variety of government bodies to help Rassada Municipality to file their complaint by providing documentary evidence to back it up.
They appear to have acted fast. Kasem Sutwaree, Director of the Phuket Natural Resources Department, told The Phuket News, “We have already told Rassada Municipality to file a complaint with the Police Station.
“If they are still working on the old tin mine site, the police can arrest them. The Police are in the process of investigating.”
Apart from complaints about non-stop noise and dust, the lake work has also raised questions about whether it is being done legally, with the right permits, whether it is destroying a natural ecosystem and a valuable water source on an island that periodically suffers from a lack of water, and whether it might cause flooding elsewhere nearby.
It is not yet clear whether Mr Boonkeng’s company – if it is found to be in the wrong – can be impelled to remove the tens of thousands of tons of fill already dumped in the lake.