Irregularities found in planting scheme

A few months ago, a team of inspectors from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, led by Kasemsan Jinnawaso, found that vetiver grass worth hundreds of thousands of baht had died a few months after planting and a large amount of money earmarked for the project had gone missing. 

The project, based in forested areas in the North and overseen by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and the Royal Forest Department (RFD), was part of the Bt120-billion flood recovery project. 

The government had allocated about Bt463 million for the project, of which about Bt223 million was spent on planting young trees and some Bt198 million used for planting vetiver grass in head watershed areas. The remaining Bt42 million was allocated for farmers to plant trees in their paddy fields. 

Last week, the ministry’s inspectors visited a plantation in Suphan Buri province and will be reporting to the minister soon. 

Kasemsan had initially reported about irregularities at a meeting chaired by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Preecha Rengsomboonsuk on October 17. According to Kasemsan, vetiver grass in these plantations died three months after planting, and the job had not been done as per instructions. Moreover, instead of planting the grass in areas prone to landslides, most of the vetiver was planted along riverbanks and flooded areas.

They also discovered that the government was charged Bt2.79 for each young tree planted, when in reality these plants cost only Bt1.14 each. 

Similarly, some unidentified individual appears to have made Bt0.45 for each vetiver grass planted, which cost about Bt1.65. 

Preecha said people found to be involved in these irregularities would face strict disciplinary action. 

Separately, the DNP has asked the government to allocate Bt2 billion for reforestation and planting young trees for the 2013 fiscal year. It plans to spend Bt700 million on planting 120 billion plants in the next two years.