Chiang Mai: Authorities moving in to demolish five resorts in the popular tourist area on Mon Cham Hill were confronted by villagers opposing the demolition in Mae Rim district yesterday.
The tense standoff took place as a combined force of about 400 officials from a forestry unit, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, administrative officials and crowd control police were deployed in anticipation of resistance from local villagers with the demolition work set to begin yesterday morning.
An investigation by the authorities found the five resorts in breach of the Forestry Act governing land use. Ownership of the land was also alleged to have changed hands from farmers to business proxies.
The farmers who opposed the demolition came from 12 villages in Muang, Hang Dong and Mae Rim districts. They called on the authorities to halt the demolition until a court had issued a ruling on their fate.
Leading the demolition squad was Samphan Phutduang, director of the Chiang Mai forestry centre, who told them the Royal Forest Department (RFD) has approved the removal of the resorts which are located in a protected watershed zone.
Due to the protest, the squad had pondered a change of plan. Instead of dismantling all five resorts at once, it thought about dismantling them one by one. However, it feared the villagers might close in on the officials and surround them, posing a safety risk.
According to Mr Samphan, the RFD had given the owners a fair chance to fight their case, having first issued writs in 2020.
It was reported the protesters were still standing their ground as of yesterday evening. They were also attempting to mobilise more people to join the protest.
The authorities said they were taking care not to create a pretext for clashes with the protesters.
Some 86 resorts not charged under the Forestry Act were being investigated for possible breach of the Building Control Act and Hotels Act, Mr Samphan added.
