Villagers win power plant case

The Chiang Mai Administrative Court has ordered the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to pay compensation of 246,000 baht, plus interest, to each family who has suffered bad health caused by pollution from its Mae Mo power plant.

Several hundred villagers in the northern province of Lampang filed 35 lawsuits against Egat five years ago, seeking redress for health problems caused by the operations of the 30-year-old lignite-fired power plant.

The court also ordered Egat to move affected families to new land at least five kilometres away from the power plant, to rehabilitate the environment at the coal mine, and to replace the golf course with trees.

Sulphur dioxide emissions from the power plant have had a severe impact on the health of people in the 16 villages. Many of them suffer respiratory problems.

At least 20 residents of the villages have died of illness in the past 10 years, their deaths blamed on pollution from the Egat power plant.