BJT minister backs dept in SRT land row

Deputy Interior Minister Songsak Thongsri defended a land committee decision not to revoke land title documents issued for plots of land in Buri Ram’s Khao Kradong area.
The decision was made despite the 2021 Supreme Court ruling that the land belongs to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
At the centre of the dispute between the SRT and the Department of Land (DoL) are land plots covering 5,083 rai in the Khao Kradong area in Muang district. The SRT is seeking to reclaim its land, accusing the DoL of malfeasance for issuing land papers to people who illegally occupied the land.
The Central Administrative Court also ruled in favour of the SRT, ordering the DoL to work with the rail agency to examine the boundaries of Khao Kradong.
Subsequently, the DoL set up a committee to consider the issue under Section 61 of the Land Code.
It was revealed last week that the land committee unanimously resolved not to revoke the land documents, and the DoL’s director-general acknowledged the decision.
This has triggered criticism and questions about whether an administrative order can overrule a Supreme Court ruling.
Addressing the land dispute, Mr Songsak, a minister from the coalition Bhumjaithai Party, said on Monday that he is not taking sides and believes there are details the public and the SRT are unaware of.
He said the Supreme Court’s ruling needs to be studied to determine if it is applicable to all or just the parties involved in the land dispute.
He insisted that the SRT can challenge the DoL’s decision but said that at this stage it does not have clear and solid evidence to convince the land committee to revoke the title documents of the land in question.
He also downplayed criticism about some committee members being linked to an influential figure in Buri Ram, saying the committee was appointed according to the regulations and they would be held responsible if they broke any laws.
It is reported that of the land documents to be examined, 12 land title deeds amounting to 179 rai in total are said to belong to the Chidchob family, a powerful political clan that has several businesses on the land, including the Buriram International Circuit and a 32,600-seat football stadium.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said on Monday that he does not think the land committee’s decision can overrule the Supreme Court’s ruling and noted that the SRT has to take further actions.
According to the decision, the map presented to the Supreme Court by the SRT was drawn up in 1996 in line with a resolution of the provincial committee on land encroachment to address problems proposed by the Assembly of the Poor.
The map is not the same as the one attached to a royal decree issued in 1921 on the purchase of land for the northeastern rail system, so the committee resolved not to revoke the land title issued by the DoL.