By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 03.12.2016 (Economic and Political Weekly): While serious questions remain on the commercial viability and environmental feasibility of the Adani Mining Pty Ltd’s (AMPL) A$21.7 billion Carmichael coal mine, rail and port projects in the state of Queensland, the company is confident of commencing construction between July and September 2017. The projects’ headquarters will be based in Townsville, in north Queensland.
AMPL, a subsidiary of India-based Adani Enterprises, on 10 November 2016 crossed one of the major hurdles with the Queensland Parliament passing the Environmental Protection (Underground Water Management) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, 2016 and the amended Water Legislation Amendment Bill, 2015 (Queensland Parliament 2016, 2015). The amended legislation means that companies that had already undergone scrutiny through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Land Court would still require a water licence, but that would not go through the public objection process.
