A 13-YEAR-LONG court battle with a lead-mining company has finally come to an end for people from the Lower Klity village in Kanchaburi province, as the Supreme Court ruled…that residents will be compensated and executives forced to fund the clean up of Klity Creek. 

The eight plaintiffs from Lower Klity village, where people have been suffering from lead poisoning for more than 40 years due to mining upstream, will be given Bt20.2 million in compensation. 

However, while villagers are delighted with the victory, they complain that the process took too long and that they still have to continue living with the contamination until the clean-up operation is completed…

Surapong Kongchantuk, head of the Karen Studies and Development Centre, said the ruling should be deemed historic because it was the first time that the court applied the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act…

"This ruling has set a lot of new principles. For instance, the court has recognised the rights of indigenous people for the first time and has included all costs such as the loss of opportunity," Surapong said…