Nirat revealed he has spoken with Governor Chadchart and plans for Bangkok to find an additional 200 million baht for flood relief, bringing the total to 510 million. He emphasized that this is not a subsidy but a shared payment between Bangkok and the government. He pointed out that local authorities act first, with DDPM supporting and filling gaps.
27 Oct 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Nirat Pongsitthaworn, Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) commented following Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul's statement about discussions among Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, and the Director-General of DDPM that Bangkok will pay flood relief jointly with the government totaling 500 million baht. Initially, Bangkok has transferred 310 million baht and plans to allocate an additional 200 million baht. From the discussions, Bangkok can adjust its existing budget without problem since it is still early in the fiscal year. Compared to Bangkok's nearly 100 billion baht budget, which has only just started being used, adjustments are feasible.
The DDPM Director-General continued, He said he has had good ongoing communication with Governor Chadchart Sitthiphan. They work respectfully together. So far, DDPM and Bangkok have worked closely and respectfully in sequence. Because nationwide disaster management follows decentralization principles, local authorities must act first with DDPM providing supplementary support. Since this is a major disaster, they work jointly and coordinate to avoid duplication or gaps.
, Regarding whether the remaining 200 million baht will be allocated within this fiscal year, Nirat said they have discussed it and the Governor will find the funds and transfer them to DDPM. He clarified that in helping pay the relief budget, DDPM does not require Bangkok to transfer money. However, considering bank system conditions, it is more convenient to pool the funds together. Therefore, Bangkok requested to transfer a large amount to DDPM. So far, 310 million baht has been transferred, with 200 million more to be found, jointly paying 510 million baht with the government. He emphasized this is not a subsidy but a shared payment between Bangkok and the government.