The operator of a lead mine in Kanchanaburi, and seven others, have been ordered to pay Bt35 million in compensation to ethnic Karen villagers affected by the mine - and to rehabilitate a contaminated creek.
Kanchanaburi Provincial Court ruled yesterday that Lead Concentrates (Thailand), operator of the defunct Klity Mine, and seven others pay Karen residents of the Lower Klity village Bt35 million in compensation. The firm was also told to rehabilitate Klity creek, which has been contaminated with lead, till it was back to normal.Karen Studies and Development Centre director Surapong Kongjanteuk, lawyer Surasi Polchaiwong and eight Karen villagers, who represented 151 affected villagers, went to hear the verdict yesterday. It stemmed from a lawsuit villagers filed against the company and seven others for Bt1.04 billion in compensation. Surapong said the mine had had a negative impact on local villagers from 30-40 years ago. In 1998 they complained to the media about their plight but got little response from the firm and public sector. So the 151 villagers filed a lawsuit for compensation in 2007, he said.After the ruling, Surapong told reporters the court ordered the company and seven others to pay a total of Bt35.8 million in compensation to 150 villagers at varying rates - from Bt100,000 to Bt600,000 for each affected person. But the court had not ruled on the case of one villager, Jeesa Nasuansuwan, 64, because he had died during the trial. The court also ordered the company and seven others to clean the creek of lead, and if it failed to do so, the villagers could demand further compensation from the company for cost of cleaning the creek, he said.The villagers' living conditions have yet to improve despite the mine being closed, because of lead in the riverbed, which has also contaminated the creek and animals in it. Dozens of people have died already - although there has been no confirmation that their deaths were caused by lead contamination. The villagers have not moved from the land as their families have lived there for generations and they say there is no better area to relocate to. Meanwhile, another lawsuit, in which the Administrative Court ordered the Pollution Control Department to "fix" the creek, was still before the Supreme Court, Surapong said. In regard to the human impact, he said villagers were still waiting for the Public Health Ministry to determine if affected villagers had lead contamination.Senior villager Yase-a Nasuansuwan said he was happy with the ruling, as it gave the villagers justice. People weren't too concerned about the money but they wanted the creek to be clean again. None of the defendants or their lawyers attended the reading of the verdict, which took about 40 minutes. They now have 30 days to appeal.