Why is Green Visakha demanding a halt to Google’s $15 billion AI data centre project in Vizag?

Green Visakha, an environmental non-governmental organisation, has demanded the cancellation of all permissions granted for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts. The organisation has also called for construction to be halted at Tarluvada and Adavivaram, according to a report by The Hindu.

The demand follows a rally organised by the group in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, marking the first anniversary of the state government’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Google for developing an AI hub in the city.

Green Visakha has questioned the environmental implications of the proposed data centre projects and called on the state government to disclose details of the agreements through a white paper.

Green Visakha has raised concerns over the approvals granted for data centre projects, arguing that the government has not followed the prescribed framework for evaluating their environmental and infrastructure requirements.

The organisation said approvals granted without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a public hearing were not legally valid. It has called for a review of the permissions issued for the projects and a halt to construction until its concerns are addressed.

The demand comes amid growing attention to the environmental and resource requirements of large data centres, which need substantial electricity and water to operate.

NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub released the framework on Wednesday. According to a post by NITI Aayog on X, the document is intended to serve as a decision-support tool that states can adapt to their priorities without introducing an additional layer of regulation.

The framework is designed to help states plan for sustainable growth in the data centre sector. Green Visakha has sought greater transparency regarding the agreements and the process followed in granting approvals for the proposed facilities.

“On Wednesday, around 200 people, most of them in black, walked from the HP gas godown near the old dairy farm to the last bus stop at Ravindranagar, despite heavy rain,” Green Visakha treasurer G. Kantarao said. Participants observed the day as a “Black Day for Vizag”. Members of Climate Action, the Coalition for AI Regulation, the Pourachaitanya Vedika and student organisations joined, raising slogans such as “Stop Vizag Data Centres.”

The organisation’s demand for a white paper is aimed at obtaining details of the projects and enabling public scrutiny of the government’s decisions.

The play ended with “Mother Nature” urging people to protect natural resources, highlighting the environmental concerns raised by the organisation.

“It covers how the data centre came as a devil, tried to divide people and influenced them, saying it will create jobs,” a protester Asha said, according to The Hindu report.

N. Chandra Shekhar, secretary of Green Visakha, said the group would also seek the views of mayoral and corporator candidates on data centres ahead of the upcoming local body elections.

The organisation intends to make the issue part of the electoral debate by asking candidates to clarify their positions on the proposed projects.

The demands place the environmental implications of Andhra Pradesh’s planned AI infrastructure expansion at the centre of a debate over investment, regulatory compliance and the sustainable use of local resources.

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