CRITICS SLAM GOVT'S 'CHEAP' POPULIST POLICY

       The new government policy allowing the leasing of 1 million rai of state-owned land to farmers has met more criticism than praise from people who had their plots repossessed thanks to a 2001 Cabinet decision.
       In a Bangkok seminar yesterday, critics - labelling the scheme as a populist policy - said the government was handing out stolen property instead of returning it to the rightful owners.
       Prayong Phikulthong, an activist known for fighting for the poor, said the "Community Title Deeds" project was unacceptable and vowed to have villagers in Pathum Thani return the deeds they received earlier this month.
       "Instead of returning the land to its rightful owners, this government has taken stolen assets and leased them cheaply to gain political benefits. This is unacceptable," Prayong said. He also called on farmers living in other parts of Pathum Thani, who will soon be given leases, to not accept them.
       In 2001, Thaksin Shinawatra's first government issued a decree reclaiming 30 million rai of land held by farmers, who had legal claim over the plots since 1970.
       Under the current government's "Community Title Deeds" project, about 1 million rai of state-owned land, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department, will be leased to farmers or low-income earners at a low rate of Bt20 per rai per year. On September 3, a total of 1,182 farmers based in Pathum Thani received deeds and leasing rights on farmland covering 7,912 rai.
       Sunee Chairos, a former Human Rights Commission member, said communities should be granted full authority to manage the project on a permanent basis instead of just 15 years under government supervision.
       Panya Khongpan, chairman of the Farmer's Federations Association for Development Thailand, said he was planning to organise a rally of farmers in Nakhon Pathom to demand that they be allowed to manage title deeds and leases through cooperatives.
       "Once the 15-year period is over and the land is returned to the Treasury Department, I believe these plots will definitely be transferred or sold to financiers," he added.
       Assoc Prof Nualnoi Treerat, a Chulalongkorn University lecturer, said the project should be beneficial to the public, but clear guidelines on management policies were needed to prevent administrative and social headaches once the 15-year period is over.