Mr Chalermpong, MP for Phuket District 2, raised the issue at a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 19). He said local residents in Rawai had reported the construction of seven prefabricated buildings on protected land, with workers and machinery preparing the site despite the area being designated as a wildlife reserve.
He said a major private company was attempting to push ahead with the development and had approached residents to expropriate their land to build a company access road.
Households were reportedly offered B1 million, with B300,000 deducted for land purchase, B250,000 for building a house and B30,000 for registering a house number.
“I inspected the area myself and found that encroachment was taking place,” Mr Chalermpong said. “This has caused damage to public land and considerable suffering to local residents. The government should not have allowed this to happen.”
He criticised what he described as carelessness by both private interests and responsible agencies, saying officials had “turned a blind eye” until complaints became public. Preparations for further construction were still visible during his inspection, he added.
Mr Chalermpong thanked Rawai Mayor Thames Kraitat for issuing an order to halt construction but said legal action must follow. “Those encroaching on public land must be charged and brought to justice,” he said.
He also called for a wider investigation into protected grazing areas across Phuket, noting that the Khao Khad Forest Reserve in Wichit had shrunk from 2,000 rai to just 800 rai. Survey work in the area was ongoing, he said, yet land clearing and encroachment continued.
Mr Chalermpong urged Governor Nirat to prioritise inspections of all forest and pasture reserves to ensure Phuket’s public land “does not fall into the hands of developers”.