Officials tried in vain to demolish five resort hotels on Mon Cham mountain, a famous tourist destination of the northern province, which allegedly encroached on forests.
Hundreds of local residents blocked a road to the resort hotels. Both sides emotionally disputed while villagers claimed unfair action against the resort hotels and demanded the issue be brought to court for justice. Finally the officials retreated.
Leaders of the demonstrators said that 3,800 villagers occupied only 2,500 rai of land and never encroached on any forest or were the proxies of businesspeople.
Mon Cham in Chiang Mai was declared a part of national forest reserves 58 years ago. The management of royal development projects sought permission for the local people who had lived in forests for generations to use the area for agriculture. Later Mon Cham became a tourist destination and local people built resort houses and campgrounds to welcome visitors. The arrival of businesspeople prompted officials to start their investigation into the land use 3-4 years ago.
Officials already demolished five resort hotels of businesspeople near a local village and were taking legal action against 122 other hotels. Of them, 86 facilities faced prosecution under building control and hotel laws and 36 others were accused of violating the Forest Act. (TNA)
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