Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted Monday the Sor Por Kor land granted to poor farmers for agricultural land reform purposes cannot be upgraded to title deeds that would allow for the land to be sold or commercialised.
"Several political issues were brought up concerning the Sor Por Kor land of late, which are spreading misconceptions about the government's distribution of farmland to the people, and the protection of environmental resources," said Gen Prayut.
He chaired a meeting of the government's committee on national land policy yesterday.
Afterwards, the premier commented on the election campaign of the pro-regime Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), which floated the idea of using such land as collateral for loan applications.
Gen Prayut made it clear the land is designated for farming purposes. It can be only inherited by relations of the title holders, and as long as it is used for agricultural purposes, he said.
Asked if he was suggesting the PPRP's Sor Por Kor land policy was unrealistic, Gen Prayut said the party probably failed to thoroughly grasp the legal issues concerned. This may be why it thought the Sor Por Kor land could be turned into title deeds, he said.
The government is now surveying areas where the Sor Por Kor land plots are no longer suitable for farming and figuring out what to do with them, he said.
Gen Prayut said he was making a general statement about the legal restrictions in the acquisition and use of the land. He stressed he was not referring to any political party in particular.
Topics discussed at yesterday's meeting included the progress made in the National Legislative Assembly's deliberation of a bill to establish an office for the national land policy committee.
That will function as a new organisation under the Prime Minister's Office, according to Rawiwan Phuridet, secretary-general of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.
The office, expected to to be established early this year, will be tasked with integrating the land management responsibilities of 11 ministries to improve the unity of the work, she said.
