In a major development, Ahmedabad-based Adani group, with interests ranging from infrastructure to energy, has cleared its last regulatory hurdle to commence work on its ambitious but controversy-hit Carmichael coal mine project in Australia, with Queensland State authorities approving its groundwater management plan. The final approval for the group’s long-delayed billion-dollar mega coal mine project came only weeks after a surprise election win of Australia’s pro-coal ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “Today, our remarkable journey of conviction, resilience and commitment in Australia enters a new phase. “The finalisation of the GDEMP [Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan] and Black-Throated Finch Management Plan paves the way for construction to commence on the Carmichael Project and the delivery of much-needed jobs for regional Queenslanders. The finch management plan and the groundwater plan were the two persisting stumbling blocks on the path of the company before it began work on the largest coal mine project in Australia.

Source: The Hindu June 13, 2019 08:35 UTC