Resorts land in hot water

PHUKET, 30 August 2012: Four Phuket properties including resorts and a private villa are allegedly encroaching on Sirinart Marine National Park.

Earlier this week, Manager Online reported details of an alleged encroachment of Sirinart Marine National Park, by Peninsula Villa Phuket at the southern end of Naiyang Bay, adding to a list of three resorts that were charged over similar allegations.

The three other properties cited for alleged encroachment were Phuket Arcadia Company for its Pullman Arcadia Resort, located on the northern end of Naithon Beach; La Colline property development located on a hill above Layan Beach and owned by a French national Bernard Gauthier and Trisara Resort on Layan Beach. They were identified in a report by Phuket News.

These charges are parts of an on-going investigation led by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation director, Damrong Pidech.

According to the original report from Manager Online, there are still another seven plots under investigation; however, there are no further information on the identities of the seven plots.

The charge against the Peninsula Villa Phuket covers nine rai (14,400 square metres) worth over Bt1 billion. Another resort property that should open this November, the Hotel Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach has rejected the accusations.

If the allegations prove to be true it will come as a major embarrassment for the French group Accor, which is supposed to manage the property under its Pullman brand. Accor prides itself on its  corporate policy to conduct its affairs in an environmentally friendly manner and maintain the highest standard for its corporate social responsibilities.

The Bt1.5 billion hotel is owned by well-known hotelier, Maitree Narukatpichai, whose family also owns the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa on Karon Beach in Phuket.

He denies all wrong-doing saying the charges are baseless and asserts that the title deeds are in order. However,  he said that the authenticity of the land title still needed to be reconfirmed beyond doubt.

According to the DPN’s Crime Suppression Section advisor, Suthorn Watcharakuldilok, most of the owners of these properties may not be aware that the land titles are encroaching on national park land as they bought them from the original owners who claimed the land was purchased before the national park law was applied to the property.

Mr Maitree and other people who claim ownership of disputed lands need to prove that their title deeds existed before the national park was established in 1981.

According to the Phuket News, one of the troubled properties owned by Bernard Gaultier who is also an investor in Pavilions Resort, discovered the land document (Nor Sor3) paper was issued in 1984; three years after the declaration of the Sirinath Marine National Park.

The investigation team claimed the Nor Sor3 paper has no precursor papers which normally would be issued only on the basis of a Sor Kor1 occupation paper.

Phuket Wan explained that Sor Kor 1 papers were notoriously vague. The investigation team believes that most of the land papers were issued by the same group of officials, during 1977 and 1992.

Sirinath Marine National Park’s new chief, Cheewapap Cheewatham, commented that dealing with alleged encroachment in Phuket would be more difficult than in the Thap Lan National Park in the Thailand’s northeast where nine resorts were demolished last month.

Thap Lan’s land owners had no land papers, but in Phuket owners have land papers so the investigation will take much longer to determine if the papers are valid or not. Also land prices in Phuket are much higher than inThap Lan National Park, so that the cost of damage from encroachment would be much higher.

Sourced: ttrweekly