Using heavy machinery, officials from the Forest Department, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and local police are continuing to demolish buildings encroaching on Nui Beach in Phuket, which lies within the Nark Kerd National Forest Reserve.
About half of the illegal buildings have already been demolished, with the remaining structures being larger buildings that will take more time to bring down, a park official said.
The dispute between the building owners and the two departments over the ownership of the 2.88-hectare plot at pristine Nui Beach has dragged on for about two decades, even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the Nor Sor 3 land rights certificates had been illegally issued and that the land should be returned to the two departments.
Through negligence or complacency on the part of the officials responsible for reclaiming the land, despite the Supreme Court's ruling, the building owners refused to move out.
It was not until the government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul adopted a hardline approach in recent months, as part of its campaign to rid Phuket of illegal businesses—including nominee businesses run by foreign investors and the encroachment on public land—that the authorities began enforcing the court's ruling.
Some building owners on Nui Beach have filed lawsuits with the Administrative Court, accusing the authorities of abusing their power and seeking a stay of the demolition order.
The court has scheduled the first pre-trial hearing for Friday.
The building owners have also denied allegations that they charged foreign tourists a minimum of 300 baht per person for access to the beach.
