The government has approved the distribution of a total of 111,210 rai of land in 15 provinces to poor, landless families to live on and farm.
A total of 57,513 rai of land will be allocated to people in 11 provinces – Kanchanburi, Ratchaburi, Lampang, Uttaradit, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Yasothon, Ubon Ratchathani, Uthai Thani, Kalasin and Nakhon Ratchasima, according to a source at the National Land Policy Committee (NLPC).
The land use allocation should be completed in May.
The source said about 90% of the land would come from national forest reserves and the rest from Sor Por Kor agricultural land.
He said 824 blocks of the Sor Por Kor land would be distributed to people in four provinces - Chumphon, Uthai Thani, Kalasin and Nakhon Ratchamima. The land has been recalled from former holders who breached the conditions and sold it illegally.
A government pilot project earlier allocated land use rights for 56,697 rai to people in four provinces – Chiang Mai, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan and Chumphon - in December 2014 and February 2015.
In Chiang Mai, the lands allocated are in national forest reserves in various river basins.
The land in Nakhon Phanom is used by a veteran agricultural community inside the Dong Moo national forest reserve. The land in Chumphon comprises blocks left over from land earlier reserved for the development of the provincial airport.
The source said in some plots of land are dispersed instead of being on one large government-owned block, and adjustments have to be made with the approval of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
He said the provincial governors must also check the list of potential recipients of the land use rights, to make sure they are genuinely entitled, as the government intended to provide land only to the poor, people who earn less than 30,000 baht a year.
During the NPLC meeting Thursday morning, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chaired the meeting, instructed the committee to consider reducing the land area per person to only five rai, instead of the current 15 rai. He was concerned the current regulation may encourage land holders to encroach on more land for other business purposes, the source said