Published Jun 12, 2026 | 12:17 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 12, 2026 | 12:17 PM
It expressed concern over the Environmental Clearance's failure to address the data centre’s proximity to the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment.
Synopsis: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has urged the Andhra Pradesh State Environment Impact Assessment Authority to cancel the Environmental Clearance granted to the proposed Vizag Hyperscale Data Center Park project. The organisation said the project is located close to the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment and the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, and criticised an alleged lack of transparency and inadequate scrutiny during the approval process.
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has demanded that the Andhra Pradesh State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) immediately cancel its decision to grant Environmental Clearance (EC) to the proposed Vizag Hyperscale Data Center Park Ltd project at Adavivaram-Mudasarlova, describing the clearance as a “brazen injustice” and “a profound failure of environmental governance”.
In a statement issued on Friday, the organisation alleged that the clearance was granted despite sustained objections from citizens, environmental experts and civil society organisations over the project’s ecological, hydrological and social implications.
It said the project is proposed in an environmentally sensitive area within the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment and the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary. It also noted that the facility would be located close to the Health City hub and densely populated residential localities, including Arilova and Chinna Gadhili.
HRF said hyperscale data centres are among the most resource-intensive forms of infrastructure, consuming large quantities of energy and water.
“Far from addressing these concerns through rigorous scrutiny and precaution, the grant of EC has reinforced fears that the environmental decision-making process has once again failed to protect the public interest, ecological sustainability and the long-term environmental security of the Visakhapatnam region,” HRF said.
“By granting this clearance, the government has clearly privileged the interests of powerful corporate entities over the protection of vital water resources, ecological integrity and the well-being of lakhs of people who depend on the fragile environmental systems of this region.”
The HRF expressed particular concern over the Environmental Clearance’s failure to address the project’s proximity to the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment. According to the organisation, the project site is situated just 120 metres from the reservoir, an important drinking water source for Visakhapatnam.
“One would expect a project proposed in such a location to be subjected to the highest level of scrutiny, with a detailed examination of its implications for drainage patterns, surface runoff, groundwater recharge, watershed integrity and long-term water security,” the statement said.
It alleged that the clearance was “conspicuously silent” on these issues and questioned how any environmental appraisal could be regarded as complete or scientifically credible without a comprehensive assessment of risks to the reservoir catchment and the tributaries flowing from the Kailasa forest hill.
“The EC offers no answer. Its silence on this fundamental issue is not merely an omission; it is a serious flaw that undermines the legitimacy of the appraisal process,” HRF said.
The organisation also criticised the alleged lack of transparency in the approval process.
“Citizens have repeatedly sought clarity on critical issues, including the project’s environmental implications, water requirements, energy demand and cumulative impacts, yet key information has remained inaccessible, unavailable or insufficiently disclosed,” it said.
HRF further alleged that ground levelling, vegetation clearance, tree felling and other site-development activities had been carried out on the Kailasagiri forest hill since at least February this year, several months before Environmental Clearance was granted on June 10, 2026.
“These activities, expressly forbidden by law, were being undertaken from at least February this year, several months before Environmental Clearance was obtained,” the organisation said.
Instead of conducting an independent inquiry into the alleged violations, the authorities had proceeded to clear the project, creating “the deeply troubling impression that environmental compliance is being reduced to a post-facto formality”, it added.
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The forum also raised concerns over the Andhra Pradesh government’s policy of expanding data centres in and around Visakhapatnam.
It said existing and proposed projects in the Vizag region, including the proposed Reliance data centre project near Bhogapuram, already account for about 4 GW of data-centre power demand, with the state aiming to increase this to 6 GW.
“A demand of this magnitude is unprecedented and raises several questions. Where will the requisite power come from? What new generation and transmission infrastructure will be required? What pressures will be placed on already stressed water resources, and what environmental burdens will ultimately be imposed on the region?” the statement said.
“This is ecological recklessness masquerading as technological progress. The integrity of the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment, once compromised, cannot easily be restored. The resulting consequences are often irreversible and are invariably borne not by project proponents, but by ordinary citizens and future generations.”
It called for a comprehensive cumulative environmental impact assessment of all existing and proposed projects in the Visakhapatnam region, an investigation into alleged pre-clearance site-development activities at the project site, and stronger legal and regulatory safeguards to protect the Mudasarlova reservoir catchment and other ecologically sensitive areas.
“The protection of vital water sources and ecological commons cannot be subordinated to commercial interests,” HRF said.
The forum demanded full public disclosure of all studies, reports and expert assessments relied upon in the approval process, along with an independent review by hydrologists, environmental scientists and public-interest experts unconnected with either the project proponents or government agencies.
