Is the govt serious about flood panels?

The government set up the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management to try and build public confidence, especially after it completely failed to cope with last year's flood crisis.

It put prominent figures, such as Samit Thammasaroj, Pramot Maiklad, Seri Suparathit and Sumet Tantivejakul, in the committee hoping they would help boost confidence. At least, this government is good at mobilising its resources.

However, once the committee was set up, the government appeared to lose interest. Like a committee member said, it seemed as if the panel was just a rubber stamp for the government. Nobody from the government had attended a single meeting with the panel to discuss the topic of water management, the source said.

Many committee members and experts felt that the government just wanted to pour big sums into projects without having a clear plan or direction on dealing with water.

"Water management does not just consist of a bunch of meetings in an air-conditioned room. We also need to see the reality on the ground," a committee member said on condition of anonymity.

Samit recently voiced his frustration by saying the committee's water-management plan had no details about implementation and it certainly was not worth the Bt350-billion budget.

Sumet and Pramot also voiced their irritation and are reportedly planning to quit.

Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, who is also a deputy PM, urged Samit and other committee members to stay on and help the government deal with problems.

A source close to the committee said that though many experts felt uncomfortable about working with the government and politicians, they were not very keen about pulling out because they have yet to come up with concrete plans on dealing with the upcoming rainy season. Also, the committee will fall apart if certain members pull out, which in turn will result in the failure of water-management plans, he said.

"Every time the government is slow, the committee can tell the public and use social pressures to force it to work," the source said.

Shortly after hearing about the committee members' dissatisfaction, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told the public that she had assigned water-management duties to concerned agencies. According to her, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will implement the plan, the Agriculture Ministry will take care of the drainage system and the Science and Technology Ministry will be in charge of the surveillance and warning system. The Budget Bureau, meanwhile, will have its officials look into all operations to see if the money is being spent efficiently and transparently.

Obviously pressure from the committee is forcing the government to be more efficient. In fact, Yingluck will personally take to the road from February 13 to 17 to see how things are going.

It is still unclear whether the committee has been able to push the government hard enough to come up with a proper water-management plan, but time is running out and the rainy season is just a few months away.

If water-management plans are not implemented in time, it is possible that Thailand will be hit by another flood disaster this year.