The government's "active investment" on water management has been successful in limiting drought damage to local communities and saving people from flooding in the rainy season, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says.
Speaking at a seminar called "Knowledge Creation, Communication and Water Management in Rainy Season", organised by the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) on Wednesday, he told more than 800 participants the government has attached importance on budget allocation for water management projects.
The projects include the provision of sufficient consumption water to villages, improving and developing water resources for supporting farming and the industrial sector, and providing new water sources for special economic zones.
He said 4.35 million families with 3.14 million rai will get benefits from the projects.
He added the government reduced the number of local communities suffering from drought to only 235 villages in 2018, compared with 30,085 villages in 2013.
Moreover, the government's compensation budget to people affected by drought and flooding had declined as well.
The figure was reduced to 18.57 billion baht in the years from 2014-2018 from 89.76 billion baht in 2011-2014.
"The government will develop water infrastructure to economic communities such as the EEC [Eastern Economic Corridor] and economic zones in four provinces in the deep South. Both urban and local communities will be able to access water sources equally," he said.
He said that the 20-year water management plan has been developed to respond to globalisation and climate change impacts, covering a proper crop plantation management plan, clearing water flow objections in rivers and canals, setting early warning systems, and establishing a task force to tackle water management.