The ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) is promising to give title deeds to Sor Por Kor landholders in a bid to alleviate poverty in rural areas, according to PPRP MP for Phayao, Thamanat Prompow on Monday.
Sor Por Kor plots are government-owned land that is meant to be distributed to poor, landless farmers so they can make a living off it.
The former deputy agriculture minister made the pledge on Tuesday at a discussion on Sor Por Kor plots organised by the People's Network for Land Reform in Phayao.
Capt Thamanat told the forum the law be changed to permit Sor Por Kor landholders to receive title deeds and pledged the party's full support to see the policy through.
"The PPRP will definitely press ahead with the policy if we are elected back into power," he said.
He added that the party will push to expedite the conversion of more degraded forest tracts into Kor Thor Chor land, which is required before these plots can be recategorised as Sor Por Kor plots.
Capt Thamanat said the land reforms will require inter-agency cooperation. While the Sor Por Kor plots are managed by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro), which is under the Agriculture Ministry, Kor Thor Chor land located across 76 provinces falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
On the other hand, converting the Kor Thor Chor land to Sor Por Kor plots would require the Agriculture Ministry to consult with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the technical and legal aspects of the conversion.
"If you ask me whether the paper upgrade is possible in law, the answer is yes," Capt Thamanat told the discussion.
Last Friday, PPRP leader Prawit Wongsuwon, who is also deputy prime minister, said the party is offering voters a way out of poverty, and the land paper conversion is a means to achieve that, as well as a comprehensive national water management plan to alleviate shortages.