Speed up land probe, Gov urges

PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today urged officials looking into alleged land title abuses on the island to speed up their investigations and to work together in a more analytical way. After talking in detail to some 25 officers at the Provincial Hall, the Governor told media that the land issue needed to be resolved because delays could damage the growth of the island’s property business. He explained that the investigations involved abuses in four categories: SorPorKor 4-01, “Flying” SorKor 1, public land encroachment and tin mine concessions. “There are about 20 cases of Flying SorKor 1,” he said. [The Flying Sor Kor 1 abuse involves a title that has “flown” from one piece of land to a more desirable one, usually public or SorPorKor land]. Public land encroachment involved relatively minor issues, he said, mostly concerning vendors who set up stalls on beaches including those at Kamala and Bang Tao. “The Land Department will send us a map to help define public land and private areas,” K. Udomsak said. On the third category, SorPorKor – public land intended only for use by poor farmers for agriculture – the Governor said, “Papers have been revoked on 961 rai of SorPorKor land and the investigation team from Bangkok is proposing to revoke another 100 papers covering 2,386 rai. “They will keep us up to date with the results as they make progress,” he added. As to category four, the Governor said that he had ordered officers to check how many tin mine concessions there are in Phuket. Officers at today’s meeting included representatives from the Land Reform Office, Land Office, Forestry Office, Fisheries Office, and the Treasury.