A ruling by Chiang Mai's administrative court dismissing a controversial case involving houses and residential buildings for judicial staff draws to a close a long-standing forest conflict in the northern province.
In 2018 a civic network rallied against the housing project, proposed by the Administrative Court Region 5 in Chiang Mai, that stretched over 147 rai of land at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain. The one-billion-baht project comprises 45 detached houses and nine flats. The project was nearly completed when activists began their protest. Such a challenge to the judicial institution is rare, yet sight of such a major construction within forest cover caused substantial public anger.
