Good bye, Tiger Temple: Govt takes back illegal land

Reform land once given to poor farmers (illegally bought by others) take back with 931 rai at Tiger Temple to start. Farmer cooperatives to receive land.

ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED LAND

Good bye, Tiger Temple: Govt takes back illegal land

Tiger Temple, first target for land reclamation
7/07/2016
Piyarach Chongcharoen

Agricultural reform officials will start reclaiming illegally occupied land in the province of Kanchanaburi on Friday.

They will start with 931 rai owned by the notorious Tiger Temple.

Structures on that 931 rai of land include:

1. The tiger- shaped office of the abbot.

2. A 400-million-baht pagoda still under construction (see photo below).

3. A 200-room dormitory for the temple's zoo workers, and

4. The famed tiger head entrance arch.

TAKING BACK AGRICULTURAL REFORM LAND

An order has been issued by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha under Section 44 of the interim constitution to take back illegally acquired land (land encroachment).

The Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) has been ordered to act swiftly and reclaim agricultural reform land from illegal occupants.

Agricultural reform land is land that the government once gave to poor farmers so that they could farm and make a living (livelihood).

Reform land is sometimes illegally sold for some quick cash rather than used to provide a long-term sustained livelihood to the poor farmer, the farmer's family and their descendants.

This is a breach of the conditions agreed upon when the government turned over the land to poor farmers to help them.

LAND GIVEN BACK TO POOR FARMERS

In a drive to seize and reclaim land reform land illegally acquired, the government has targeted 432,765 rai across 25 province. 

The seized land will then be redistributed to the poor under the concept of cooperatives, which means there will be no individual land ownership.

Land management will be carried out by the cooperatives, while farming support, water sources and infrastructure will be supported by the government.

Each family will receive around five rai of land which cannot be sold (read more here).

MORE LAND AT TEMPLE BEING INVESTIGATED

The other part of the temple, 391 rai at the same location, is also being examined.

ALRO earlier permitted the use of the land for religious purposes, but the temple management developed its famed zoo there.

Tourism revenues from the Tiger Temple were allegedly as much as 100 million baht a year and a 400 million baht pagoda was under construction (see below).

Shortly after the raid by wildlife officials, however, there was not even enough money left to buy animal feed for all the animals that the temple had accumulated from donations over the years (see here).

Three tigers disappeared from the temple recently.

Tiger skins, frozen baby tiger carcasses, bottled tiger embryos, tiger bones and tiger products were also discovered after the temple was raided five weeks ago.

All of this led wildlife conservation authorities to suspect wildlife trafficking at the temple.

TAKING BACK ILLEGAL LAND IN KANCHANABURI PROVINCE

The reclamation of land in Kanchanaburi would initially involve 14 blocks in all, totalling 5,000 rai, in four of the province's 13 districts -- Dan Makhamtei, Lao Khwan, Phanom Thuan and Sai Yok.  Illegal land occupancy was a serious problem in Dan Makhamtei district.

Many official documents were issued for illegal land occupancy in Sai Yok district after a fire at the Sai Yok district office in February 1991.

The land reform office would investigate their issuance, and he believedthat more land would later be taken back.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/1029885/tiger-temple-first-target-for-land-reclamation

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