National parks office says its two-week online ‘ people reading’ drew more than 900, 000 persons
Discussed: 12 Jul 2024 at 20: 56
Ninety-five percent of the more than 900, 000 people who took part in an online survey oppose revoking the protected status of 265, 286 rai ( 425 square kilometres ) of land in Thap Lan National Park, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ( DNP ).
The study, billed as a common reading, was carried out on the department’s web between June 28 and July 12, with 922, 898 messages, said Attapol Charoenshunsa, the district’s director-general.
He claimed that the majority of participants were basic public members and local park residents who were directly or indirectly connected to the park.
In the online survey, participants were asked if they concur with the plan to change the park’s limit series, which was approved by the preceding government’s case on March 14 last season.
Following updates to the boundary lines on state land plots, the Office of the National Land Policy Board ( ONLPB) made the proposal. The changes were made as part of a government program to incorporate the One Map technique, which was put into place in 2000, into the mapping systems used by nine different organizations.
According to Mr Attapol, 879, 595 participants, accounting for 95.3 % of respondents, disagreed with the proposal, while 43, 303 participants ( 4.7 % ) expressed agreement.
He stated that the website results may be combined with those from the on-site trials in Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachin Buri, and Sa Kaeo on Thursday and Friday.
The combined effects may be submitted to DNP boards, with the operation expected to be concluded rapidly, he added.
In four districts of Nakhon Ratchasima and one in Prachin Buri, Thap Lan sprawls over almost 1.4 million rai ( 2,235 sq km ) of land. In Nakhon Ratchasima’s Soeng San and Wang Nam Khieo towns, the property is disputed. Wang Nam Khieo is well-known for its casinos.
The discussion surrounding Thap Lan has been especially contentious. Of the 265, 286 rai in question, around 58, 000 rai ( 93 sq km ) has been occupied by local people since before it was declared a national park four decades ago.
Further complicating the situation is the fact that some of these neighborhood residents sold their property to developers of resorts, which was against the law.
In a related development, Damrong Pidech, a former DNP captain, urged Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to revoke the commission’s acceptance of the plan to reduce the area.
Then, he threatened to send a complaint to His Majesty the King, along with personal organisations and citizens globally, to defend the park’s property.
According to Mr. Damrong, Section 64 of the National Park Act BE 2562 grants local residents of Thap Lan National Park the right to use parkland for farming.
Therefore, transferring the disputed area to the Agricultural Land Reform Office to grant land titles to local people is unnecessary, as they already possess usage rights, he argued.
Instead of using their land as intended to support those in financial difficulties who rely on farming, he claimed, a transfer like this would enable locals to sell it to investors and businesses.