CityNews – Photos shared with CityNews show evidence of erosion at the Scar of Doi Suthep housing estate, raising questions about the quality of survey and construction carried out.
These images show the beginnings of erosion on the mountain side, and could point to more serious landslides in the future. The images shared have raised questions among the local community as to whether suitable geological and environmental surveys were carried out before the construction began.
The construction has yet to be complete and has been recently delayed past the original end date of June 18th, preventing the land from being transferred to the Treasury Department and being returned to the forest. There is also evidence that people are living in the houses, despite an order from the Prime Minister’s Office declaring the entire area off limits to people who wish to live there.
Teerasak Lubsuwan told CityNews that “this recent development has ultimately invaded the forest and clearly hurts the people’s hearts, going against a royal statement of King Rama IX as well as current government policy about preventing further buildings or development in Thailand’s forests.”
