The Department of Social Development and Welfare (SDWD) will revoke any land rights deeds, or Nor Kor 3, mistakenly issued for land belonging to Lop Buri's Army Special Warfare Command, its director has said.
The military command has complained that almost half its 40,000 rai compound in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district, next to Lamtakong dam, has been encroached upon by villagers and state officials, department director-general Somkid Somsri said.
Col Sommai Busaba, a member of the 2nd Army legal team, previously said locals fleeing the construction of Lamtakong dam had started settling on the land in 1972. The area was once used by Thai and American troops for military exercises during the Vietnam War.
The SDWD later issued land rights deeds, known as Nor Kor 3, to villagers, without opposition from military officers. The land associated with such certificates is known as self-help settlement land.
Kaengkhan Seetathani, a Lamtakong settlement official, said the Nor Kor 3 documents were wrongly issued for about 10,000 rai of the military command's land. He said the settlement office will urge the SDWD to revoke the documents.
Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission secretary-general Prayong Preeyajit said the agency is investigating alleged irregularities in the distribution of land in Pak Chong under a Lamtakong self-help settlement project.
Mr Prayong said checks between 2008-2011 found many land owners had failed to meet project criteria, which specifies the land is intended only for locals affected by the dam and poor farmers. A senior state official is suspected of collusion in the irregularities, so the case will be sent to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.