Lawmakers Blast Interior Ministry Budget for Inflated Spending
Lawmakers criticized the Interior Ministry's 226.9 billion baht budget allocation, citing inflated prices for chair procurement, water systems, and piping projects that could waste millions of baht.
On September 9, the House of Representatives reviewed the 2570 fiscal budget of 3.78 trillion baht, examining the Interior Ministry's allocation of 226.929 billion baht. Kanpong Prayursak, a Bangkok representative from the Pheu Thai Party, highlighted three chair procurement projects across northern provinces with inconsistent pricing despite occurring within the same provincial administrations. He noted that standardizing prices could save 740,000 baht across just those three projects.
Kanpong raised concerns about a water pump system for a staff residence in Chachoengsao budgeted at 250,000 baht, though the assessed price was 190,000 baht. Investigation revealed the actual booster pump cost only around 100,000 baht, yet the quotation inflated it to 190,000. More egregiously, the high-pressure HDPE water pipe budget of 45,000 baht would construct a 100-meter line—equivalent to a 20-story building—for a 12-person residence, while Parliament itself stands only 11 stories tall. Market rates for such piping typically run no higher than 450 baht per meter.
Kanpong concluded that while the ministry is called Interior, such budgeting practices suggested it had become "corrupt in every item and every baht." Separately, Nattapol Towijak-chaikul, a Chiang Mai representative from Pheu Thai, praised the Civil Registration Department's reduced budget for national ID cards—cut by 43 million baht in the 2570 budget, averaging just 15.55 baht per card. However, concerns persisted over a 47-million-baht guest accommodation data recording system project.
