RFD launches probe into land encroachment
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The Royal Forest Department (RFD) will launch an investigation into illegal acquisition of land in the three southern provinces of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi after it discovered that more than 2,800 rai of forest reserve areas had been encroached upon ov
The move comes after the department recently discovered that about 65 rai of forest reserve areas in Phuket’s Freedom Beach, worth Bt4 billion, had been taken over by wealthy people.
Samak Donnapee, chief of the department’s Forest Land Management Bureau, said encroachment into forest reserves had been rising drastically over the past two years due mainly to the booming tourism industry and the rising price of agricultural products in Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi. Since 2010, about 2,848 rai of forest reserve land in Krabi, Phuket and PhangNga have been invaded.
The Nation
