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The project is located in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, which is governed by an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The state government has described the investment as historic and transformational while rejecting allegations that the project was fast-tracked without adequately assessing its impact on water resources and wildlife.
The growing resistance could become an early test for Google’s largest investment in India, as the project is facing several legal challenges over its potential impact on water availability and its proximity to a wildlife sanctuary that is home to leopards and pangolins.
In recent weeks, activists and children have marched through Visakhapatnam carrying banners reading, “We cannot drink DATA,” while painting handcuffs on the Google logo, according to social media posts.
On Sunday, Reuters attended a public gathering where activists discussed plans for door-to-door awareness campaigns and beach protests in the coming days.
“Development should not be at the cost of livelihood of the people,” said Raja Rama Mohan Roy, founder of the non-profit Green Visakha, during the event. He presented statistics highlighting Visakhapatnam’s stressed water supply and increasing demand.
According to the government, the city receives 410 million litres of water daily from reservoirs and rivers against a requirement of 480 million litres. Water rationing remains common in the city, which has a population of approximately 2.5 million people.
Rapid expansion of data centres has faced opposition globally because of their high consumption of water for cooling servers and significant electricity demand. The potential impact is considered more pronounced in a developing country such as India. In the United States, opponents staged 142 protests across 42 states in July over similar concerns.
On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the state government to respond to allegations made by activist group Jal Biradari (Water Community), which claims the project will place additional pressure on a nearby reservoir and further strain water availability. The court is scheduled to hear the public interest litigation again on August 24.
In a statement to Reuters, the Andhra Pradesh government described activists’ concerns as incorrect and misleading but said it remains open to public feedback.
“Such protests are their democratic right. In case any of these claims are legitimate, government is committed to engage and provide factual,” the state said.
Google has partnered with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s group, which will build the flagship project that is expected to create up to 188,000 jobs. Adani did not respond to queries.
The public interest litigation before the Andhra Pradesh High Court also raises concerns that heavy construction activity and noise could affect the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, located just 860 metres from the project site.
Responding to questions about the site's proximity to the sanctuary, the state government said the project is located farther away than required under the law. Google added that it will implement sound-dampening measures to ensure “we are a quiet, unobtrusive neighbour.”
The project is also facing three additional cases before India’s environmental court filed by the Human Rights Forum, which is seeking a halt to construction. The petitions argue that the state approved the project without properly assessing the impact of drawing water from a rural drinking-water scheme, according to court documents.
The Andhra Pradesh government said no water allocated for rural or residential purposes would be used by the upcoming data centres and that the nearby water reservoir would also not be used for the project.
During Sunday’s gathering, Green Visakha expressed concern over the government’s commitment to provide “guaranteed” water supplies to the project for 20 years despite the city’s existing shortages.
“Who will be the sufferers? The people,” Roy said.
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