Google’s $15 B Visakhapatnam Data Centre Sparks Water-Use and Wildlife Fears

Google is constructing a $15 billion data-centre hub on a hillside above Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Earth-moving equipment is already terracing the site, while the complex will sit about 860 metres from the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, home to leopards and pangolins. The state government reports that the city draws roughly 410 million litres of water daily from reservoirs and rivers, against an estimated need of 480 million litres for its 2.5 million residents, leading to frequent rationing. Critics argue that the centre’s cooling systems could further strain this limited supply.

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The Andhra Pradesh government rejected claims that the project was fast-tracked without assessing water or wildlife impacts, calling activist concerns “incorrect and misleading” while remaining “open to feedback.” It added that the site complies with legal distance requirements from the sanctuary and that no water from rural or residential schemes will be diverted to the data centres.

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Raja Rama Mohan Roy, founder of the non-profit Green Visakha, warned that “Development should not be at the cost of livelihood of the people.” He highlighted the city’s chronic water stress and questioned the promise of a 20-year guaranteed water supply for the project. Activists have staged marches, painted handcuffs on Google’s logo, and plan door-to-door awareness campaigns and beach protests in the coming days.

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The Andhra Pradesh High Court is scheduled to hear a public-interest litigation concerning the project on August 24. In addition, three separate cases have been filed in India’s environmental court by the Human Rights Forum, seeking a halt pending a full assessment of water-use impacts on a nearby rural drinking-water scheme.

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• “Development should not be at the cost of livelihood of the people,” — Raja Rama Mohan Roy, founder of non-profit Green Visakha

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