The latest meeting between a government panel and civic groups over the controversial court housing project at the foot of Doi Suthep failed to reach a comprehensive final agreement yesterday.
While the panel only said it will go ahead with a plan to "restore the area", civic representatives went further, suggesting the government demolish almost all the buildings for full-scale forest restoration.
The civic groups demanded that homes, of which 90% of the construction has already been completed with taxpayers' money, must be demolished while the authorities said such a request could only be met if it was legally allowed.
The civic groups proposed the government exercise Section 48 under the 2018 Act on Promotion and Conservation of National Environmental Quality to declare the area an "environmental protection zone" and transfer the state property to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for conservation purposes.
It would allow officials to use the "original forest border line" to demarcate the controversial area, merging it with a nearby pristine forest, said Theerasak Roopsuwan, one of key leaders of the civic groups campaigning for the demolition of houses in the judicial housing project for judicial officials and judges.
State officials were reluctant to give such permission right away. However, all sides agreed on one point, that the area -- part of Doi Suthep, should be returned to its natural condition. Built on a mountain slope, conservationists have consistently warned against natural disasters such as landslides during the rainy season and forest fires during the dry season.
The meeting yesterday produced a four-point resolution. All the proposals will be forwarded to the 3rd Army, which oversees the northern region, for consideration.
The first proposal is that the area needs restoration under the environmental law as it is very important to the local ecosystem which cannot be altered.
The second proposal states that judicial officials of the Region 5 Court of Appeal Office, did nothing wrong but "stand to lose most benefits".
The civic groups suggested that the government allocate a budget and find a new location for the houses. The govt insists there are no law violations as the land is not the part of a national park.
The 127 rai -- part of which is on the mountain slope and some on flat terrain in the foothills -- belongs to the Treasury Department.
The department was given the land by the army which had previously owned it and declared the area a degraded forest some decades ago, according to government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
The third proposal suggests the government return the area to the Treasury Department. The government panel viewed it as pretext for the ministry of environment to step in. In the committee's view, the area should be merged with Doi Suthep-Pui National Park.
The fourth proposal asked the government to make a "social contract" to ensure no state agencies will be allowed to occupy areas bordering a forest.
The proposals was cautiously welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who ordered the army to take care of this issue. He told the media that he supports any legal means to end the conflict.
Gen Prawit earlier said authorities would not knock the houses down.
The project, in which 45 houses and buildings are being built as new residences and workplaces for over 200 judicial officials in the province was initiated more than a decade ago.