The Treasury Department wants to sign cheap leases with squatters on government property in exchange for government services.

The Treasury Department aims to put 100,000 land occupiers on lease contracts within this fiscal year, in accordance with the government’s policy to help the poor.

Some 139,000 people are encroaching on 1.36 million rai of state land, said Yuttana Yimgarund, director-general of the department.

If these squatters, who live in poverty, agree to sign lease contracts with the Treasury Department, they can enjoy government assistance measures, including aid packages for farmers, and can also use the lease contracts to back the loans, he said.

The lease rate will be low at 200 baht a rai per year for farmers and 25 satang per square wah per month for those who lease residences, said Mr Yuttana.

To be eligible for the scheme, residents must have settled on the land before 2003.

The department averages turning 14,000 occupiers per year into lessees, but 100,000 are targeted in this fiscal year.

To achieve the target, the department may outsource some functions including verifying qualifications for the scheme, said Mr Yuttana.

Nakhon Sawan and Surat Thani have the highest rate of state land occupation, he said.

Mr Yuttana said the department will also use state land to set up markets in rural communities, while other state property will used to build meeting venues for communities.

The department aims for 100 markets and meeting places nationwide by fiscal 2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak recently said the government wants to reform the rural economy and improve living standards to strengthen buffers against external volatility.

The Excise Department earlier pushed for a policy to hold meetings in provincial areas on generating income for rural people.