In a powerful show of collective concern, more than 650 delegates—activists, researchers, legal experts, and community leaders—gathered in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Their demand was clear and urgent: halt all new approvals for hyperscale AI data centers in Andhra Pradesh until a thorough, independent study on their environmental and social impact is conducted.

Key facts

  • Over 650 delegates attended the People’s Convention on AI Data Centres.
  • Organized by the Society for Green Visakha in Visakhapatnam.
  • Calls for a moratorium on new data center approvals pending an independent impact study.
  • Key concerns include water scarcity, tribal displacement, and lack of transparency.

A City Under Pressure

The convention, held at the Alliri Sitaramaraju Vignana Kendram, wasn’t anti-technology. It was pro-justice. Raja Rama Mohan Roy, president of Green Visakha, set the tone, emphasizing that the group seeks to place “environmental justice, social justice and human dignity” at the center of the debate. The worry isn’t progress; it’s progress without responsibility.

Water, Land, and Power: The Real Costs

E.A.S. Sarma, a retired IAS officer and former Union Secretary, delivered a stark keynote. He questioned the logic of allocating resources to a proposed 6,500 MW Google data center in a water-stressed city. He linked the facility’s power needs to the displacement of tribal families from the Polavaram irrigation project, calling inadequate compensation an indirect subsidy to the data center—and a human rights violation.

V.S. Krishna of the Human Rights Forum pointed to pump-storage projects in Chintapalli and Anakapalli, and a proposed thermal plant in Srikakulam, all driven by the data center’s energy appetite. “Development cannot mean displacement or the erosion of legally protected rights,” he stated, his words hanging heavy in the room.

“Nothing really gets better for the local community,” environmental conservationist Sohan Hatangadi noted grimly. He highlighted that even a one-gigawatt facility creates only about 500 jobs, mostly highly skilled roles out of reach for the local workforce.

Legal Challenges and a Community’s Plea

Advocate D. Nagasaila revealed that the National Green Tribunal has already admitted petitions challenging all three environmental clearances granted for the project. He alleged the clearances were processed within days, without adequate scrutiny—a rush that ignores due process.

Jayshree Hatangadi, a heritage narrator, reminded everyone that protecting the city’s resources is a duty to future generations. “What was protected today was owed to the generations after us,” she said, her voice a mix of resolve and worry.

The convention culminated in the “Visakhapatnam Declaration,” a six-point call to action seeking a moratorium, full disclosure of project agreements, revocation of improper clearances, independent audits, restored land rights, and an end to the surveillance of protesters. The message was unified: pause, assess, and proceed only with equity.