Bangkok: Registration for the "Thai Help Thai Plus" initiative commenced just five hours ago, rapidly filling up as only 8 million slots remain available. Mr. Paradorn Prisnanantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, expressed satisfaction with the response but reassured the public that eligibility checks will be processed within three days to ensure rightful access to the program.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Paradorn elaborated on the two categories of registrants: those who have previously received benefits can immediately affirm their eligibility, while newcomers to the initiative must await confirmation. This verification, involving coordination with the Ministry of Interior through an online system, could take up to three days.
Despite concerns about registration delays potentially affecting eligibility, Mr. Paradorn clarified that 10 million registrations were processed within the first 25 minutes of opening, leaving 8 million slots. For those pending verification, the system has reserved their slots, ensuring eligibility upon successful verification.
Addressing issues surrounding the state welfare card, Mr. Paradorn acknowledged complaints about misallocated benefits. He emphasized the need to reassess the current list of 13.2 million beneficiaries, highlighting discrepancies between reported poverty levels and actual benefit recipients. A comprehensive survey by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security will aim to identify genuinely impoverished individuals for accurate beneficiary data, expected to take two months.
On financial matters, Mr. Paradorn mentioned that discussions about project proposals for the second budget allocation have not yet been initiated. The screening committee, led by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, is expected to address these topics once registration system discussions are completed.