Activists siding with the Network to Reclaim Doi Suthep Forest said a geographical survey backed their call for the removal of 45 houses and nine condominium buildings being built as homes for court officials.

“The forest zone is very clear, so I am not worried about the survey results,” the network’s coordinator Teerasak Rupsuwan said.

Construction of the houses and condominiums has continued as the Bt1-billion project works towards its June 18 scheduled completion, noted Teerasak. After the Court of Appeals Region 5, which owns the construction project, accepts the work from the constructor, it will hand over the plot to the Treasury Department under an agreement struck between the Prime Minister’s Office and opponents of the project.

The agreement was wrapped up last Sunday by PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana and activists who had strong local backing in opposing the project. Although the buildings are not inside the adjacent Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, protesters have said the structures are encroaching on forestland. “After the Treasury Department gets that plot, it should be declared a part of the national park,” Teerasak said.

The 33rd Military Circle, which has helped mediate the conflict, will next week start building a road to facilitate reforestation efforts. The road will not go past the Court of Appeals Region 5 headquarters, which sits near the construction site. Suwaphan, meanwhile, said a new plot of land would be found for the Court of Appeals Region 5 in place of the controversial site that it had to give up. “We will establish committees to handle relevant issues,” he said. “We will proceed carefully”.

He downplayed a senior public prosecutor’s comment that laws would allow a government agency to cancel or alter contracts with the builder. The comment was posted through a personal Facebook account, apparently in response to public debate asking why the construction at the controversial site has continued when it has been agreed that no one will use the structures. The Network to Reclaim Doi Suthep Forest wants the structures demolished.