Khao Kradong issue awaits House committee review after members' walkout
Opposition MP says the House committee he chairs will soon review the dispute focusing solely on facts with transparency and integrity, free from political influence
Poonsak Chanchampee, a party-list MP from the opposition People’s Party, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Land, Natural Resources, and Environment, revealed after today's commission meeting (November 13) that, due to the absence of a quorum, the commission could not pass a resolution to bring the Khao Kradong land issue onto the agenda.
However, he believes there is still time to request a resolution again to submit the Khao Kradong land matter to the commission.
There were also reports that when the topic of "Khao Kradong" was raised in the meeting for a resolution, several government MPs, both those present in person and those attending online, left the meeting room, resulting in a lack of quorum and preventing a resolution from being passed today.
The Khao Kradong dispute involves 5,083 rai of land in Buri Ram’s Khao Kradong area, which the Supreme Court said in a 2021 ruling belongs to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
However, the Department of Land issued title deeds on the land.
Later, the Central Administrative Court also ruled in favour of SRT, telling both sides to work together to set boundaries on the plots.
In response, the department set up a committee to study the issue under Article 61 of the Land Code, and the committee decided to not revoke the title deeds.
This sparked an uproar and questions about how a panel can overrule a Supreme Court ruling. Many also claimed that some committee members may be linked to an influential figure in Buri Ram.
Poonsak, meanwhile, said his committee wants both sides to clarify their positions publicly and come to an agreement.
As for the so-called influential figure, Phoonsak said the focus should be on facts, adding that if politics is set aside all government work can become transparent.
He said information and arguments from both sides will be thoroughly reviewed before a report is submitted to the government.
“The review will not consider who owns the land and if there is anyone influential behind relevant decisions. The review will be conducted with integrity. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong, regardless of who has ownership or influence,” he declared.
