Visakhapatnam is witnessing an alarming and unprecedented surge of data center projects across ecologically fragile and densely populated regions. These projects are being pushed with little transparency, zero public consultation and serious unanswered environmental questions.

The most immediate threat is the proposed Google-Adani hyperscale data center at Adavivaram-Mudasarlova, barely 120 metres from the Mudasarlova reservoir and squarely within its catchment area. Mudasarlova is a vital drinking water source for the city and construction at this site threatens natural water inflows into the reservoir. The project site lies amidst the fragile hill ecosystems linked to the Kailasagiri-Kambalakonda forested landscape.

Any large-scale hill cutting, deforestation and intensive construction in this fragile zone will undermine the city’s water security, biodiversity and ecological stability. Even more alarming, forest land at the project site is already being cleared despite the project lacking Environmental Clearance.

At the same time, similar large-scale data center proposals have emerged in Tarluvada, also near the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, at Rambilli near the coast of Anakapalli district and now near Bhogapuram, where Reliance Industries is proposing a gigantic 1.5 GW facility. Taken together, these projects could irreversibly damage the Vizag coast and surrounding hill landscapes. Their combined power demand could reshape regional energy infrastructure and deepen environmental stress.

Data centers are among the most resource-intensive industrial facilities. They consume enormous quantities of electricity, water and cooling infrastructure while generating limited operational employment. Yet, these projects are being aggressively pushed into sensitive and already fragile ecosystems without any meaningful public scrutiny of their cumulative environmental impact.

These data centers are being marketed as ‘development’ and ‘digital progress.’ But the destruction of forests, reservoir catchments, farmlands and coastal ecosystems is not development. It is ecological devastation. Visakhapatnam is not an empty industrial corridor to be carved up for corporate profit. It is a living landscape of hills, wetlands, forests, fishing communities, villages and millions of people whose survival depends on ecological balance.

We demand:

• Immediate halt to all ongoing site work at Adavivaram.
• Full disclosure of water use, power requirements and project MOUs.
• Independent cumulative environmental impact assessments covering all
  proposed projects.
• Meaningful public hearings involving communities and experts.
• Protection of Vizag’s hills, reservoir catchments, forests, wetlands and coastal
  ecosystems from reckless industrial expansion.
• Visakhapatnam’s ecological future cannot be sacrificed for unregulated
  corporate expansion.
• Sign this petition to defend our water, forests, coast and future before the
  damage becomes irreversible.

Check out our statements for more information:

https://humanrightsforum.org/google-data-center-represents-a-looming-environmental-economic-disaster-hrf/

https://humanrightsforum.org/brazen-illegalities-at-proposed-adavivaram-data-center/​

https://humanrightsforum.org/google-data-center-mou-must-be-made-public/​

https://humanrightsforum.org/suspend-environmental-clearances-to-hyperscale-data-parks-hrf/