Mon Jam to return to natural state

 | Tue 20 Oct 2020 17:58 ICT

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Varawut Silpa-archa, along with a team, descended upon famous tourist attraction Mon Jam yesterday to follow up on the reclaiming of land and dismantling of resorts and businesses made by squatters.

Earlier this year it was ordered that dozens of businesses had been operating illegally on National Forest land and were ordered to return the area to its original condition, removing all manmade structures.

Thirty businesses were ordered to immediately remove themselves from the land while a further 100 are still under investigation.

One resort which had yet to make any efforts to demolish, saw 50 government officials demolish it with a black hoe.

Varawut told CityNews that those who were operating businesses on the National Forest land were often second or third party buyers of the land, who had bought the land with no title deed, nor any permission to build. The ministry intends to return the entire area to its natural state and currently he can confirm that seven businesses have been removed with another 14 currently in the process.

The hundred remaining businesses currently under audit need to either remove themselves if they know that they do not have a legal status, or wait for the verdict of the investigation.

He went on to say that the Mon Jam area is a very important watershed area with wild life which must be preserved and not taken advantage of by private businesses.

He said that the ministry is working very closely with the villagers to communicate to them that this is not the authorities utilizing power for power’s sake, but that this is for their own protection as there is now a high possibility of landslides from these eroded mountain sides.