The Central Administrative Court says a cabinet resolution approving in principle the building of the controversial Mae Wong dam should stand, rejecting a green group's bid to nullify it.
It also rejected calls for a referendum on the dam, but said the government must complete all environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA) processes set out under the law before the scheme can go ahead.
The Stop Global Warming Association and 151 people representing environmental groups filed a lawsuit with the Central Administrative Court in July 2012 asking it to nullify the cabinet resolution of April 10, 2012 which agreed in principle with the construction of Mae Wong dam in the Mae Wong National Park in Nakhon Sawan province.
It also asked the court to order the government to conduct a referendum on the project before it presses ahead.
The petition was lodged against then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, her cabinet, then minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the then director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID).
The lawsuit says approval of the dam with funds of 13.2 billion baht, with a construction period of eight years (2012-2020), did not follow legal procedures properly and did not comply with Section 67 of the 2007 constitution which required large-scale projects such as dams to undergo an EHIA study and scrutiny by the Independent Commission on Environment and Health.
In its ruling, the Central Administrative Court said the cabinet resolution agreed in principle with the project and ordered the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to work on the details and propose it to the National Water and Flood Management Policy Committee.
It was not an actual resolution to begin work on the project as such.
In addition, the project would start only if its EHIA was approved. The EHIA study is now before EHIA specialists and no one knows whether the commission will endorse the EHIA, the court said.
The cabinet resolution is only considered a procedure to seek endorsement for proceeding with construction, the court said and, as a result, the cabinet resolution is legal and can stand.
The court also rejected the activists' request for a referendum, saying that under the 2007 constitution, a public referendum requires a specific law and none was in place for this project.
It said laws governing the dam's construction only require a public hearing of stakeholders.
A referendum is not required for the project under law. However, the court said the government and authorities concerned should follow all legal procedures stipulated if it wants to press ahead.