Royal Forest Department (RFD) director-general Chonlatid Suraswadi made this suggestion as he led a team to inspect the “Hi-Society Hill” privately owned scenic resort land plots in Tambon Ban Pong of Chiang Mai’s Hang Dong district. A sought-after area among wealthy people and property developers, “Hi-Society Hill” has been accused of encroaching on forest reserves. Chonlatid said the visit was to follow up a preliminary inspection of the area in June, which found that at least two plots were inside forest boundaries. Out of 18 plots with building construction that allegedly encroach onto 40 rais (6.4 hectares) of forest reserve, the owners of 11 plots claimed to have the correct documents, he said. Two out of the 18 plots were confirmed to have no proper landright document or construction licence, and the matters were forwarded to the police for further investigation and prosecution, he said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 23, 2017 11:48 UTC