V/Gov Somkiet Sangkhaosuthirak, who led the inspection party, remarked after the visit, “The land is very steep and the vegetation and topsoil have been removed. Whenever it rains it is very dangerous [because of the possibility of landslides].”
He said that an official from the Phuket Office of Natural Resources and Environment had already surveyed the land and proved that it is too steep to build on legally; in Thailand, land steeper than 40 per cent (21.8º from horizontal) may not be built upon.
Yet the land has all the appearance of having been cleared in preparation for development.
A complaint about the land was initially made to the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok, which sent it back to the Damrongtham Centre in Phuket. The centre’s director, Prapan Kanprasang, said yesterday (March 25), “I am not sure how many rai this piece of land covers, but it’s big.
“We saw, as was mentioned in the complaint, that the land had been cleared and a concrete road built where there used to be a small stream.”
He added that V/Gov Somkiet had ordered the relevant departments to investigate the case.
Narunart Supataraprateep, the Thalang District Officer, will attempt to track down who was responsible for ripping out the vegetation and topsoil, while the Phuket Forestry Office will check whether the land is in a protected area. The Thalang Land Office will check land documents.
“However, we know that two offences have been committed – clearing land on a steep hillside and building over a public stream, so whoever did this will be prosecuted,” Mr Prapan said.
Others who joined the inspection party included Ma Ann Samran, President of Cherngtalay OrBorTor and Karun Sriden, his countyerpart in Kamala.