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Visakhapatnam Delegates Demand Moratorium on New Hyperscale Data Centres Amid Environmental and Social Concerns
On Sunday, more than 650 delegates—including activists, researchers, legal experts and community leaders—gathered at the Alluri Sitaramaraju Vignana Kendram in Visakhapatnam for a People’s Convention on AI Data Centres. The Society for Green Visakha organized the event and called for a moratorium on new hyperscale data‑centre approvals in Andhra Pradesh until an independent, cumulative environmental and social impact study is completed.
President of Green Visakha, Raja Rama Mohan Roy, opened the convention by emphasizing that the debate should centre on “environmental justice, social justice and human dignity.” He clarified that the group was not opposed to technology but wanted technological progress to be accompanied by equity, responsibility and sustainability.
Keynote speaker E.A.S. Sarma, a retired IAS officer and former Union Secretary in the Ministries of Power and Finance, questioned the allocation of resources to a proposed 6,500 MW Google data centre in Visakhapatnam. He highlighted the city’s water‑stress situation and the large state incentives extended to the project. Sarma linked the facility to the displacement of tribal families under the Polavaram irrigation project, arguing that inadequate compensation to Adivasi communities amounted to an indirect subsidy for the data centre and constituted a human‑rights concern under Article 21 of the Constitution. He also challenged the technical viability of air‑cooling technology, noting that air‑conditioning systems are highly electricity‑intensive.
V.S. Krishna of the Human Rights Forum added that pump‑storage power projects in Chintapalli and Anakapalli mandals and a proposed thermal plant in Srikakulam district were being driven by the data centre’s energy needs. He warned that development “cannot mean displacement or the erosion of legally protected rights.”
Advocate D. Nagasaila, of the Madras High Court, reported that the National Green Tribunal had admitted petitions challenging all three environmental clearances granted for the project. He alleged that the clearances were processed within days without adequate scrutiny.
Environmental conservationist Sohan Hatangadi said that local communities bore the heaviest costs of such projects. He noted that while communities give up farms, land and ancestral property, they receive little in return. Even a one‑gigawatt facility created only about 500 jobs, mostly highly skilled positions unavailable to the local workforce, and “nothing really gets better for the local community.”
Jayshree Hatangadi, a heritage narrator, emphasized that protecting the city’s natural resources and heritage remains a concern regardless of the development’s name or sponsor. She warned that what is protected today is owed to future generations.
N. Chandrashekhar, general secretary of Green Visakha, released the “Visakhapatnam Declaration.” The declaration seeks a moratorium on fresh approvals, disclosure of project agreements, revocation of clearances granted without due process, an independent energy and water audit, restoration of land rights for affected communities, and an end to surveillance of protest.
The convention’s demands come against a backdrop of significant data‑centre investment in the state. In July 2025, Google announced a $6 billion investment to build a 1‑GW hyperscale data centre cluster in Visakhapatnam, with an additional $2 billion earmarked for renewable energy. Sify’s project, announced in the same period, involves a $1.9 billion investment for 550 MW capacity. Together, these projects bring total data‑centre investments in Andhra Pradesh to $7.9 billion and a capacity of 1.55 GW.
Andhra Pradesh’s IT minister, Nara Lokesh, stated that the state had already finalized investments for data centres totaling 1.6 GW and aims to build 6 GW over the next five years. The rapid expansion has raised concerns about water scarcity, energy demand, and the displacement of tribal communities, particularly those affected by the Polavaram irrigation project.
The National Green Tribunal has also issued notices to other infrastructure projects in the state, underscoring a growing scrutiny of environmental compliance. The tribunal’s involvement in the data‑centre clearances indicates that the legal and regulatory environment is becoming more stringent.
At present, the moratorium request remains pending. The Visakhapatnam Declaration has not yet been adopted by state authorities, and no official response has been issued. The next steps will likely involve negotiations between the state government, the companies involved, and civil‑society groups, as well as potential court proceedings to challenge the environmental clearances.
The debate highlights a broader tension between rapid digital infrastructure development and the need to safeguard environmental resources, tribal rights, and local livelihoods. How Andhra Pradesh balances these competing interests will shape the state’s future as a technology hub and its social and ecological sustainability.
President of Green Visakha, Raja Rama Mohan Roy, opened the convention by emphasizing that the debate should centre on “environmental justice, social justice and human dignity.” He clarified that the group was not opposed to technology but wanted technological progress to be accompanied by equity, responsibility and sustainability.
Keynote speaker E.A.S. Sarma, a retired IAS officer and former Union Secretary in the Ministries of Power and Finance, questioned the allocation of resources to a proposed 6,500 MW Google data centre in Visakhapatnam. He highlighted the city’s water‑stress situation and the large state incentives extended to the project. Sarma linked the facility to the displacement of tribal families under the Polavaram irrigation project, arguing that inadequate compensation to Adivasi communities amounted to an indirect subsidy for the data centre and constituted a human‑rights concern under Article 21 of the Constitution. He also challenged the technical viability of air‑cooling technology, noting that air‑conditioning systems are highly electricity‑intensive.
V.S. Krishna of the Human Rights Forum added that pump‑storage power projects in Chintapalli and Anakapalli mandals and a proposed thermal plant in Srikakulam district were being driven by the data centre’s energy needs. He warned that development “cannot mean displacement or the erosion of legally protected rights.”
Advocate D. Nagasaila, of the Madras High Court, reported that the National Green Tribunal had admitted petitions challenging all three environmental clearances granted for the project. He alleged that the clearances were processed within days without adequate scrutiny.
Environmental conservationist Sohan Hatangadi said that local communities bore the heaviest costs of such projects. He noted that while communities give up farms, land and ancestral property, they receive little in return. Even a one‑gigawatt facility created only about 500 jobs, mostly highly skilled positions unavailable to the local workforce, and “nothing really gets better for the local community.”
Jayshree Hatangadi, a heritage narrator, emphasized that protecting the city’s natural resources and heritage remains a concern regardless of the development’s name or sponsor. She warned that what is protected today is owed to future generations.
N. Chandrashekhar, general secretary of Green Visakha, released the “Visakhapatnam Declaration.” The declaration seeks a moratorium on fresh approvals, disclosure of project agreements, revocation of clearances granted without due process, an independent energy and water audit, restoration of land rights for affected communities, and an end to surveillance of protest.
The convention’s demands come against a backdrop of significant data‑centre investment in the state. In July 2025, Google announced a $6 billion investment to build a 1‑GW hyperscale data centre cluster in Visakhapatnam, with an additional $2 billion earmarked for renewable energy. Sify’s project, announced in the same period, involves a $1.9 billion investment for 550 MW capacity. Together, these projects bring total data‑centre investments in Andhra Pradesh to $7.9 billion and a capacity of 1.55 GW.
Andhra Pradesh’s IT minister, Nara Lokesh, stated that the state had already finalized investments for data centres totaling 1.6 GW and aims to build 6 GW over the next five years. The rapid expansion has raised concerns about water scarcity, energy demand, and the displacement of tribal communities, particularly those affected by the Polavaram irrigation project.
The National Green Tribunal has also issued notices to other infrastructure projects in the state, underscoring a growing scrutiny of environmental compliance. The tribunal’s involvement in the data‑centre clearances indicates that the legal and regulatory environment is becoming more stringent.
At present, the moratorium request remains pending. The Visakhapatnam Declaration has not yet been adopted by state authorities, and no official response has been issued. The next steps will likely involve negotiations between the state government, the companies involved, and civil‑society groups, as well as potential court proceedings to challenge the environmental clearances.
The debate highlights a broader tension between rapid digital infrastructure development and the need to safeguard environmental resources, tribal rights, and local livelihoods. How Andhra Pradesh balances these competing interests will shape the state’s future as a technology hub and its social and ecological sustainability.
