Koh Samui land grab: minister steps in
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat yesterday ordered land on Koh Samui to be conserved as a water-source area and urged a probe into the legality of land ownership on the island.
Yongyuth said he had ordered the province to reserve 34,000 rai out of 150,000 rai of Samui land as a water-source area on which a natural park would be located. His inspection via helicopter also revealed illegal logging.The inspection also raised suspicions of forest encroachment as people used Sor Khor 1 land documents to apply for title deeds when there was no real occupation and use of the land, Yongyuth said. He ordered the province to set up a panel to look into this matter, especially the issue of how many holders of current Sor Khor 1 documents for 19,000 plots had been granted title deeds. Yongyuth also urged the Interior Ministry to summon officials reportedly involved in the Samui land issue, such as the one whose signature was on the questionable title deeds, the former provincial land-office chief and the former Samui district chief.
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