Narongdet, a member of the 2570 Budget Committee and former People’s Party MP, reveals that the Irrigation Department has spent money from its revolving fund to purchase new vehicles, criticizing that last year, many areas were flooded but there was no money to help farmers.
25 Jul 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Narongdet Ularakul Former party-list member of parliament for the People’s Party and special committee member reviewing the draft Budget Act for fiscal year 2570 (2027), posted photos of vehicles and documents on Facebook, stating that while many officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives lack vehicles to use, the Irrigation Department has acquired new vehicles that make other departments envious. However, he did not see budget approval for vehicle purchases in the Budget Act under the Irrigation Department’s section.
Upon investigation, he found that the Irrigation Department used money from the Revolving Fund for Irrigation, established to manage water storage, control, distribution, drainage, or allocation for agriculture, energy, utilities, industry, and crop damage prevention due to water. It also covers repair and reinforcement of flood barriers, irrigation structures, and dredging irrigation waterways. This fund, sourced from irrigation system fees and service charges, was used to purchase the vehicles under the fiscal year 2569 (2026) operational plan.
Narongdet further stated that despite widespread flooding last year causing distress in many areas and no funds to assist farmers, these funds should be targeted to help farmers quickly and effectively, not treated as a personal budget for the agency. If the Irrigation Department claims a lack of budget in the future, the first question should be: what else have they spent the money on?
