NEW DELHI: The Australian government has granted clearance for Adani Group’s controversial groundwater management plan for its coal mine project at Queensland in that country.
“CSIRO and Geoscience Australia have independently assessed the groundwater management plan for the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project. Both CSIRO and Geoscience Australia have confirmed the revised plan meets strict scientific requirements,” Australia’s environmental minister Melissa Price said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Adani Group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael Coal Mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland. However, the multi-billion dollar coal mine in Queensland was mired in controversy, following strong protests from environmentalists.
They raised concerns that the proposed mine could do serious damage to the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage area, and would threaten to wipe out the most important habitat of the already endangered black-throated finch.
“Following this independent assessment and the Department of the Environment and Energy’s recommendation for approval, I have accepted the scientific advice and therefore approved the groundwater management plans for the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,” Price said. However, she added that the approval for the project is not final.