Bonanza has 15 days to provide land documents

THE ROYAL Forest Department (RFD) will give Bonanza International Speedway 15 days to produce land rights documents to rebut allegations that its racecourse sits on forest and agricultural-reform land.

“If it fails to produce evidence, we will require it to remove all structures it has built on land that it has no rights to within 30 days,” Surawut Jaikijsuwan, a senior official at the Forest Resource Management Office 8 (Nakhon Ratchasima), said yesterday.
According to him, preliminary investigation suggests that Bonanza International Speedway is illegally occupying 103 rai of forest and agricultural-reform land in Nakhon Ratchasima province. RFD director general Theerapat Prayunrasiddhi said Bonanza International Speedway had caused about Bt10 million worth of environmental damages.
So far, 16 houses near the racetrack and roads are currently being targeted for demolition.
Surawut said that if Bonanza fails to produce evidence refuting preliminary investigation results and ignores the demolition order, the RFD would demolish the structures itself.
Bonanza International Speedway is among the many businesses under the control of former politician Paiwong Taechanarong and his family.
All these businesses are being investigated as initial evidence suggests they might be engaged in encroachment.
Bonanza businesses expand over 4,000 rai of land in Nakhon Ratchasima, according to various reports.
Meanwhile, Seehanat Prayoonrat, secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), said yesterday that his office was ready to order asset seizures against Bonanza owners and related figures if encroachment cases against them turn up clear-cut evidence of guilt.
“But we have to wait until all allegations are proven,” he said.
In one of the latest developments, the Agricultural Land Reform Office is threatening to evict Bonanza and demand compensation.
Given that encroachment on public land and exploitation of natural resources is also an offence under the anti-money laundering law, all eyes are on Amlo to see what action it takes.
Seehanat, so far, has described the ongoing encroachment case against Bonanza as “non urgent”.
“We don’t work based on public sentiment,” he said, adding that Amlo planned to see the results of investigations led by different authorities before taking action on the case.
According to him, Amlo is in charge of more than 40 other alleged encroachment cases, which had officially been handed over by the RFD. “The encroachment problem is reported in several different provinces, including Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga,” Seehanat said.
Interior Minister Anupong Pao-chinda, meanwhile, said he had not yet received a report on the Bonanza case from the Lands Department. “But if any wrongdoing has been committed, the culprits will definitely be punished.”