LAND DEVELOPMENT ACT,B.E 2526 (1983)
BHUMOBOL ADULYADEJ, REX.;
Given on the 1st Day of October B.E. 2526;
Being the 38th Year of the Present Reign.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is
graciously pleased to proclaim that:
Whereas it is expedient to have a law on
land development; Be it, therefore, enacted by the King, by and
with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, as
follows.
Section 1.This Act is called the
"Land development Act,B.E. 2526".
Section 2. This Act shall come into
force as from the day following the date of its publication in
the Government Gazette.*
Section 3. In this Act:
"land development" means any
act done to soil or land in order to increase its richness or
quality, or to increase agricultural produce, and includes the
improvement of soil or land which lacks natural fertility or
lacks fertility due to its utilisation, and soil and water
conservation to maintain natural balance or for suitable
utilisation of land for agriculture;
"policy making and planning for land
utilisation" means the policy making and planning for
land utilisation appropriate for the land condition and
conforming with the categories of classified land;
"soil" includes stone, gravel,
sand, minerals, water and other organic material mixed with
soil;
"land" means land under the
Land Code;
"land census" means survey,
particulars of possessory rights in details, list of farmers
utilising land for agriculture, residence, commerce and
industry;
"land economics" means economic
relationship between the population and land;
"Committee" means the Land
Development Committee;
"member" means a member of the
Land Development
*Published in the Goverment Gazette Vol.
100, Part 160, Special Issue, dated 6th
October B.E. 2526(1998) Committee;
"competent official" means a
person appointed by the Minister
for the execution of this Act;
"Minister" means the Minister
having charge and control of the
execution of this Act.
Section 4. There shall be a
committee called the "Land Development Committee"
comprising the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives as
Chairman, Permanent Secretary of Agriculture and Cooperatives as
Deputy Chairman, Secretary-General of the National Economic and
Social Development Board, Director-General of the Land
Department, Director-General of the Department of Public
Welfare, Director-General of the Royal Forestry Department,
Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department,
Director-General of the Department of Agricultural Extension,
Director-General of the Department of Agriculture,
Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Land Reform,
Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Economics and
not more than three qualified persons appointed by the Minister
as members, and the Director-General of the Land Development
Department as member and secretary.
Section 5. The Committee shall have
the following powers and duties:
(1) to consider land classification,
planning for land utilisation, land development and
determination of areas for land utilisation for submission to
the Council of Ministers for approval so that their
implementation may be carried out by the agencies concerned;
(2) to determine the areas for land survey under section 11;
(3) to prescribe measures for soil or land improvement or
measures for soil and water conservation so that the State
agencies concerned may employ them and advise the farmers to
that effect;
(4) to approve the establishment of land development agencies
at various levels in any area in order to provide direct
technical assistance, demonstration and advice to farmers in
cases where measures for soil or land improvement or measures
for soil and water conservation as prescribed by the Committee
require techniques which cannot be given to farmers through
promotional method;
(5) to prescribe regulations, rules, or conditions relating to
applications for analysis of soil samples or applications for
soil or land improvement in cases under section 14;
(6) to prescribe regulations relating to performance of duties
by a sub-committee;
(7) to carry out other work as defined by laws to be the
duties of the Committee or as entrusted by the Council of
Ministers.
In the performance of duty under this section, the Committee
may assign the Land Development Department to carry out or
prepare and submit proposals to the Committee for
consideration.
Section 6. The members appointed by
the Council of Ministers shall hold office for a term of three
years.
In the case where a member is appointed
during the term of members already appointed, notwithstanding it
is a new or additional appointment, the appointee shall hold
office for the remaining term of the members already appointed.
A member vacating office may be
re-appointed.
Section 7. Apart from vacating
office at the end of the term under section 6, the members
appointed by the Council of Ministers shall vacate office upon:
(1) death;
(2) resignation;
(3) removal by the Council of Ministers by reason of inability
to perform normal duties or misconduct;
(4) being a bankrupt;
(5) being an incompetent or quasi-incompetent person;
(6) being sentenced to imprisonment by a final judgment except
for an offence committed through negligence or a petty
offence.
Section 8. In a meeting, if the
Chairman is absent or is unable to perform his duty, the Deputy
Chairman shall preside over the meeting. If the Chairman and the
Deputy Chairman are absent or are unable to perform the duty,
the members present shall elect one among themselves to preside
over the meeting.
At every meeting, the presence of not less
than one-half of the total number of members is required to
constitute a quorum.
The decision of the meeting shall be by a
majority of votes. Each member shall have one vote and in case
of an equality of votes, the person presiding over the meeting
shall cast an additional vote as a casting vote.
Section 9. The Committee may appoint
a sub-committee to consider or carry out any act assigned by the
Committee.
At the meeting of the sub-committee, the
provisions of section 8 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 10. The Land Development
Department shall have the duties to carry out a survey and
analysis of soil or land in order to ascertain the fertility and
suitability for the utilisation of land, to effect land
classification and land development, to prepare census of land
or economic condition of land pursuant to this Act and to carry
out other matters as assigned by the Committee.
The Land Development Committee shall have
the power concerning statistics under the law on statistics in
matter relating to the preparation of census of land pursuant to
this Act.
Section 11. For the benefit of
surveying the fertility of land and suitability in the
utilisation of land, the Committee may order the carrying out of
a land survey.
Whenever it is deemed expedient to carry
out a land survey in any area,the Committee shall publish in the
Government Gazette a notification determining the area for land
survey. Such notification shall have a map showing the area to
be surveyed attached thereto, and such map shall be considered
as part of the notification.
Section 12. Within the area to be
surveyed under section 11, the competent official shall have the
power to enter, during the period between sunrise and sunset,
the land which has owner or possessor in order to collect a soil
or water sample or to make a survey mark in the soil or water as
deemed suitable and necessary; but the owner or possessor shall,
within reasonable time in advance, be informed in writing. If
the owner or possessor cannot be communicated, a notice to the
owner or possessor shall be put up not less than fifteen days in
advance. Such notice shall be in writing and put up at the place
where that land is situated, at Khet or Amphoe office and Kamnan
or the Khwaeng office where that land is situated, provided that
the time and the nature of the act to be performed shall be
given therein.
In the performance of duties under this
section, the persons concerned shall provide appropriate
facilities and, for this purpose, the competent official shall
produce his identity card to those concerned.
The identity card of the competent official
shall be in the form prescribed by the Ministerial Regulation.
Section 13. In the performance of
duty under this Act, the competent official shall be the
official under the penal Code.
Section 14. Any individual wishing
the Land Development Department to analyse a soil sample or
carry out soil or land improvement or soil and water
conservation shall submit an application to the local land
development agency where the land is situated; if there is no
such agency, the application shall be submitted to Amphoe.
In carrying out the analysis of a soil
sample or soil or land
improvement or soil and water conservation under paragraph one,
the applicant
shall pay for the expenses as prescribed in the Ministerial
Regulation.
In the case where a farmer wishes the Land
Development Department to carry out the analysis of a soil
sample or carry out soil or land improvement for his
agriculture, if the soil sample is brought to the Land
Development Department, the expenses under paragraph two shall
be waived and the Land Development Department shall inform the
applicant of the result of the analysis of the soil sample
within reasonable time including giving advice on the soil or
land improvement for agriculture.
Section 15. Whoever causes damages,
destroys, alters, removes or pulls out a survey mark made by the
competent official under section 12 without permission from the
competent official shall be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding one thousand
Baht, or to both.
Section 16. Whoever obstructs
competent officials performing their duties under section 12
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand Baht.
Section 17. The Minister of
Agriculture and Cooperatives shall have charge and control of
the execution of this Act and shall have power to appoint
competent officials and issue Ministerial Regulations for the
execution of this Act.
Such Ministerial Regulations shall come into force after their
publication in the Government Gazette.
Countersigned by:
General P. Tinsulanonda
Prime Minister
Certified correct translation
(Taksapol Chiemwichitra)
Office of the Council of State
|
