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

Green Visakha is opposing proposed AI data centres in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts. It has demanded cancellation of all permissions and a construction halt at Tarluvada and Adavivaram. The organisation says the government has not properly assessed the projects’ environmental and infrastructure requirements.

Its central concern is that approvals were granted without an Environmental Impact Assessment, or EIA, and a public hearing. Green Visakha argues that such approvals are not legally valid. It wants the permissions reviewed and construction paused until the concerns are addressed.

The campaign followed a rally marking one year since the Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with Google for an AI hub. About 200 people joined despite heavy rain. Green Visakha is also seeking a white paper and plans to question election candidates about the projects, keeping environmental review and resource use in public debate.

The proposed Google AI hub is a planned concentration of AI data-centre infrastructure in Visakhapatnam, often called Vizag. It comes from a memorandum of understanding signed by Google and the Andhra Pradesh government on October 14, 2025. The project matters because it would expand the state’s planned AI infrastructure and create large facilities requiring significant resources.

The MoU envisages an investment of $15 billion. AdaniConneX is identified as a partner in the proposed hub. The source does not provide a detailed construction schedule, exact capacity, or a complete list of facilities.

Green Visakha is challenging the project’s environmental approvals and asking the government to publish a white paper. The organisation wants public scrutiny of the agreements and the process used to approve data-centre projects. Its protest also seeks to make the issue part of local election debates by asking candidates to state their positions.

The proposed investment is $15 billion, according to the MoU between Google and the Andhra Pradesh government. That figure signals a project far larger than a single small computing site. The hub is intended to support AI infrastructure in Visakhapatnam, with AdaniConneX as a partner.

Large data centres require buildings filled with computing equipment, dependable power, network connections, and cooling systems. They also need land and water. The source specifically notes that large data centres require substantial electricity and water to operate. It does not give the planned hub’s exact land area, power capacity, water volume, or number of buildings.

Those requirements explain why Green Visakha is demanding fuller disclosure and environmental review. The organisation says the state did not follow the prescribed framework for evaluating environmental and infrastructure needs. It wants construction paused while permissions, agreements, and resource requirements are examined publicly.

An Environmental Impact Assessment examines how a proposed project could affect its surroundings before approval. A public hearing gives affected people an opportunity to raise concerns. Green Visakha says both safeguards were missing when permissions were granted for the proposed data centres.

The organisation argues that approvals issued without an EIA and public hearing were not legally valid. It also says the government failed to follow the prescribed framework for assessing environmental and infrastructure requirements. These claims are Green Visakha’s stated position; the source does not report a final legal ruling on the permissions.

Green Visakha wants the government to review the approvals and stop construction until its concerns are addressed. It is also asking for a white paper explaining the agreements and decisions. The demand reflects a broader dispute over whether investment in AI infrastructure is proceeding with enough transparency and environmental scrutiny.

The source identifies electricity and water as major resource concerns linked to large data centres. Green Visakha argues that expanding AI infrastructure could affect local land and water resources. The organisation has not presented a quantified forecast of shortages or ecological damage in the material provided.

The proposed facilities would operate with substantial computing equipment and cooling needs. Those operations require continuous electricity and water, while construction occupies land. At the rally, the street play Datasura Vadhanam portrayed people recognising potential costs to their land and water resources. These concerns explain the group’s call for stronger assessment before construction.

The current reality is that the projects have proposed permissions and construction activity at Tarluvada and Adavivaram, while Green Visakha is seeking a halt. The future dispute will centre on disclosure, environmental review, infrastructure planning, and whether local resources can support the planned expansion.

The Data Centre Evaluation Framework to Help States Plan for Sustainable Growth is a document released by NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub. It is designed to help states assess and plan growth in the data-centre sector. The framework matters because data centres require major infrastructure and resources.

According to NITI Aayog’s post on X, the framework is a decision-support tool. States can adapt it to their own priorities. It is not intended to introduce an additional layer of regulation. The source does not list the framework’s detailed indicators or procedures.

Green Visakha alleges that Andhra Pradesh did not follow the framework when approving the proposed facilities. The organisation wants greater transparency about both the agreements and the approval process. The framework therefore sits at the centre of a debate over sustainable planning, regulatory compliance, and public accountability as the state considers AI infrastructure growth.

AI data centres consume much electricity because they run powerful computing equipment for long periods. That equipment processes and stores data, and its operation produces heat. The article directly states that large data centres need substantial electricity and water, though it does not explain the engineering details.

In general, cooling systems remove heat so computing equipment can keep operating safely. Fans, chillers, pumps, and other cooling equipment use electricity. Water-based cooling can also consume substantial water, depending on the system. These demands combine with the power needed by servers and networking equipment.

This resource use is why Green Visakha is challenging the proposed facilities in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli. The group wants environmental and infrastructure requirements assessed before construction continues. NITI Aayog’s framework is intended to help states plan sustainable data-centre growth, while Green Visakha is demanding transparency and review.