Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin has defended the revision of the Thap Lan National Park boundary, insisting the move is not intended to benefit capital interests but to address the long-standing hardships of residents who lived in the area before it was declared a national park.
Speaking on Tuesday amid growing "Save Thap Lan National Park" campaigns by influencers and actors, Mr Suchart said the process to revise more than 100,000 rai of park land began before he took office and had been reviewed by multiple committees across several administrations.
"This issue is like a coin with two sides," he said, noting that academics and experts had already explained the matter. He added that the difficulties faced by tens of thousands of households should not be turned into a political issue.
