The junta-installed state budget monitoring and scrutinising committee has found irregularities in the disbursement of meeting allowances to parliament committees and plans to recall the money.
Lt Gen Anantaporn Kanchanarat, who chairs the committee, made the comment yesterday after the panel had concluded its audit of the parliament's budget spending.
He said the panel discovered that more than 3,000 parliament committees had been set up. Some committee members received meeting allowances more than once in a day while some attended a meeting for only 5-10 minutes but received allowances for three hours' attendance, worth 9,000 baht.
The panel investigated the matter and will recall the money from the former members, Lt Gen Anantaporn said.
He said the panel will ask the House of Representatives and Senate secretariats to review criteria relating to the disbursement of meeting allowances to ensure payments are strictly controlled.
Lt Gen Anantaporn also said the panel examined the parliament's three other projects and asked the secretariat of the House of Representatives to review them.
One plan is the construction of the new 12-billion-baht parliament building in Kiakkai which has fallen behind schedule because of delays in the handover of land purchased for the site.
The other project is a 5-billion-baht bid to construct apartments for parliament officials, with more than 2,000 rooms including rooms set aside for MPs.
The panel decided there are too many rooms and asked the House of Representatives secretariat to review the project, Lt Gen Anantaporn said.
As for the parliament provident fund, the panel has found some parliament members and political-office holders took office for only one month, but still received pensions and welfare benefits.
The panel has asked the secretariat of the House of Representatives to review the provident fund's management to ensure fairness to other parliament officials, Lt Gen Anantaporn said.
He added the panel will also examine seven state investment projects, each worth more than 100 million baht. The projects have a combined investment value of more than 30 billion baht.
They include an 11.3 billion-baht State Railway of Thailand plan to build dual-rail tracks linking Chachoengsao and Kaeng Koi district of Saraburi and an Industry Ministry project to build a 194-million-baht one-stop service centre in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the House wants ex-MPs to give back more than 200 computer tablets so future legislators can use them.
Charae Phanprueng said yesterday that former MPs had not returned 266 computer tablets and he ordered the Bureau of Information Technology under the House secretariat to contact them to retrieve the devices.
He said members of the proposed national reform council and the national legislative assembly will need to use the tablets once they take office.
Mr Charae also said the Thai parliament's website needs improvement and must offer easy access to information.
He ordered his staff to respond to requests from the National Anti-Corruption Commission that is probing past parliament procurement projects.