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Business News/ Companies / Australian govt urged to reconsider approval for Adani project
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Australian govt urged to reconsider approval for Adani project

ACF says it has alerted govt about impact project would have on water and wildlife in Queensland's Galilee Basin

A file photo of Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the Adani Group. The group took over the Carmichael coal project in 2010, but the A$10 billion project ran into trouble over environmental concerns. Photo: MintPremium
A file photo of Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the Adani Group. The group took over the Carmichael coal project in 2010, but the A$10 billion project ran into trouble over environmental concerns. Photo: Mint

Mumbai: The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has written to the federal environment minister to reconsider the approval granted to the Adani Group’s proposed Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, the environment body’s website showed on Monday.

ACF is one of the most influential environmental advocates in Australia, fighting for ecological sustainability.

“ACF has written to federal environment minister Greg Hunt, alerting him to new information about the impact Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine would have on water and wildlife in Queensland’s Galilee Basin and calling on the minister to reconsider his approval of the mine," ACF said in a statement.

Adani took over the Carmichael coal project in 2010 with plans to develop a coal mine, a connecting rail link and the Abbot Point port to transport the coal to India, but the A$10 billion project ran into headwinds from environmentalists, the weakening coal markets and banks refusing to fund it.

“My client, the Adani Group, would not like to comment on your queries," said an Adani spokesperson when asked for a comment on ACF’s note.

ACF’s letter draws the minister’s attention to evidence presented in a recent Queensland Land Court case regarding state approval for Adani’s proposal. ACF believes that this information is also relevant to Hunt’s decision to approve the mine under federal law.

“Expert evidence given to the Queensland court shows Adani’s planned mega coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin will pollute the basin’s groundwater and destroy 10,000 hectares of the habitat of the largest known population of the endangered southern black-throated finch," said ACF’s chief executive officer Kelly O’Shanassy.

“In Adani’s environmental assessment, the company grossly underestimated the damage to groundwater and the mine’s impact on the black-throated finch. With this new information coming to light, ACF believes minister Hunt must withdraw his approval and reconsider the new evidence. This new evidence provides more compelling reasons why this mine should never be dug," she said.

It also noted that Adani, the proponent of the Carmichael mine, has a history of environmental breaches and that coal from the Carmichael mine will be shipped through the Great Barrier Reef, the website said.

“The mine will take 297 billion litres from underground aquifers, causing a drop in water table levels on which local farmers rely. When burnt, coal from the Carmichael mine will produce 128.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, at peak production, or four times New Zealand’s annual climate pollution," ACF’s note said.

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Published: 04 Aug 2015, 01:25 AM IST
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