Flood Relief Funds Nearly Depleted After 5.2 Billion Paid Out
The flood relief budget of 5.29 billion baht is almost depleted after 5.215 billion has been paid out to 683,000 cases, leaving roughly 1.7 million claims pending, including 700,000 in Bangkok. MP Supanat Meechainantan criticised the Ministry of Interior for underestimating the damage by up to four times and warned that an extra 12 billion baht would be needed to settle all claims. He urged the Interior Minister to quickly secure additional funding from the Cabinet to avoid prolonging victims’ hardship.
Supanat Meechainantan, a Bangkok MP from the People's Party, said the flood relief fund of 5.29 billion baht approved by the Cabinet in two tranches—558 million and 4.731 billion—is nearly exhausted after 5.215 billion baht has been paid out to 683,000 cases, leaving about 1.7 million cases still pending, including 700,000 in Bangkok. He criticised the Ministry of Interior, which is directly overseen by Prime Minister Anutin, for underestimating the damage by as much as four times. He added that if all pending claims were settled, an additional 12 billion baht would be required, and urged the Interior Minister to swiftly seek extra budget approval from the Cabinet to prevent further hardship for flood victims who have waited three weeks without assistance.
