A former government official has accused operators of the Heinda mine in Tenasserim Division of ignoring Burma’s existing law on mines, and has urged those responsible for alleged environmental destruction due to mining activities to step up and address locals’ grievances…[The retired deputy director of the Department of Mines] said he supported a lawsuit brought by local villagers…[against] the Thai firm Myanmar Pongpipat Company and Burma’s state-owned Mining Enterprise 2…[The civil suit] was accepted by the Dawei District Court…with the plaintiffs claiming to have suffered years of negative environmental impacts from mining activities in the area…