The Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday delivered a ruling ordering the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand to set up a committee to consider evacuating villagers affected by pollution from the lignite mines and Mae Moh power plants out of the five-kilometre radius from the facilities.
Only those who are willing to be evacuated will be relocated outside the five-kilometre stripe from the mines and power plant.
EGAT was also ordered by the court to install a water curtain about 800 metres long from the site where leftover soil were dumped to prevent airborne particles from the lignite mines and emissions from the coal-fired power plants from spreading into the environment threatening the health of people living close vicinity with the Mae Moh power plant project.
Coal mines which are already closed down will be rehabilitated by Egat to return the mines into their old natural settings.
The legal tussle between Egat and villagers affected by pollutants from the coal mines and coal-fired power plant at Mae Moh dated back to 2003 when when the affected villagers sued Egat in the Administrative Court seeking redress from mining power generation fallouts.