Environmental Groups Have Exaggerated Concerns Over Adani Project: Hunt


MELBOURNE: Rebutting concerns raised by environmentalists on the approval of USD 16.5-bn coal and rail project of India's Adani Mining in Queensland, Australian environment minister Greg Hunt said the claims about its impact on Great Barrier Reef were exaggerated.

According to media reports in Melbourne, Hunt while insisting that the project would not have a big impact on the reef, said, Environmental groups such as Greenpeace are exaggerating the impact on the reef. It is casual, uninformed and its false and untrue. He commented that the mine's predecessor, the Alpha Mine, was approved by Labor state and federal governments and environmental groups were less critical then.

I think all that was said by Greenpeace was unfortunate, so it appears there is one rule for a Labor decisions another rule for a Coalition Government decision, he said. Environmentalists have raised strong concerns about dredging and dumping at the Abbot Point which is said to be a risk to the reef.

According to Australian Conservation Foundation,Adani's coal export proposals will require construction of a coal export terminal on the Great Barrier Reef coastline at Abbot Point.

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Source: PTI