The Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) sees no connection between the government's policy of handing out land title deeds to farmers and land encroachment, which poses a threat to more than 100,000 rai (39,536 acres) of state land, a senior official said on Friday.
DNP director-general Attapol Charoenchansa told CU Radio of Chulalongkorn University that the government's land policy was not an impetus for trespassing on land under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
The Pheu Thai Party-led coalition government has a policy of granting land ownership to farmers residing on land under agriculture reform, known as Sor Por Kor, by converting it into land title deeds. This scheme aims to provide farmers with easier access to loans and ensure job security.
The DNP is currently working to reclaim land from the Agriculture Land Reform Office (Arlo) after discovering that about 2,900 rai of plots intended for Sor Por Kor issuance are located within Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district.
Arlo on Tuesday transferred six officials from the Nakhon Ratchasima office to Bangkok to facilitate investigations into alleged encroachments on Khao Yai National Park.
National Park Office director Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn has estimated that more than 150,000 rai of national park land has been encroached upon with the aim of converting it into agricultural reform land.
Mr Attapol supported his subordinate's statement, saying the figures were based on initial data of the ministry. Surveyors of the ministry will comb through all land plots to find out the exact scope of the encroachment.
The ministry oversees state land in 400 locations across the country in various statuses, ranging from national parks to reservation areas, most of which fall under the DNP and Royal Forestry Department.