Supanut urges Thai Cabinet to increase flood relief budget

Supanut Meenanchai, a Member of Parliament from the People's Party, has urged the Thai Cabinet to urgently approve additional funding for flood relief. He reported that of the 5,290 million baht previously approved for two rounds of compensation, 5,215 million baht has already been disbursed, leaving almost no remaining funds for other victims.

Supanut criticized the government and the Ministry of Interior for significantly underestimating the required budget, claiming the initial assessment was four times lower than the actual damage. While approximately 683,000 victims have received payments, an estimated 1.7 million people nationwide—including 700,000 in Bangkok alone—have submitted requests that remain unapproved. He estimated that an additional 12,000 million baht is required to provide comprehensive coverage.

He called on Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to expedite the budget increase to prevent further delays for citizens who have been waiting weeks for assistance. Additionally, concerns were raised regarding the ‘Tang Rat’ application, noting a lack of photo attachment functionality which may be contributing to delays in the approval process.