A century-old sacred fig tree in the middle of a highway in Chiang Mai’s Muang district has again become the centre of controversy, despite a court order to relocate it.
The Administrative Court issued an order on July 2nd for the Highway Department to move the tree within three months.
As the deadline approaches next month and the department prepares for the relocation, environmental protection groups, led by the Committee for the Protection of Mae Ping and its Environment have vowed to appeal again to the court to stop the relocation.
The tree in question has been growing near the Rinkam intersection in Muang district for more than a century. It is in an area where a highway was constructed, but space was allowed for the tree, resulting in a narrowing of the road.
In 2018, residents near its location called for its relocation, citing the unusually narrow road and the risk of accidents. The site is also used as a place to dump garbage and as a hangout for undesirables. They argued that the large tree would be dangerous if it were to collapse someday.
At that time, the Committee for the Protection of Mae Ping and its Environment and a road safety support group filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission and the Chiang Mai Highway Office to prevent any action concerning the tree.
They claimed that the tree should neither be felled, removed nor relocated.
The Highway Department subsequently asked the Administrative Court to rule on the case, and it ruled in favour of the department earlier this year.
