Maharashtra To Soon Have A Data Centre Policy To Regulate Sites, Water Consumption, Noise Pollution & Heat Generation

Mumbai: Maharashtra is likely to have its own Data Centre Policy, becoming the first state to establish comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures governing the facilities. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has collaborated with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay to regulate the rapidly growing digital infrastructure sector.

Thane Protests Highlight Environmental Concerns

The regulatory framework comes in the direct backdrop of strong local protests in Thane’s Balkum area, where residents voiced intense opposition against an upcoming Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre facility over concerns regarding noise pollution, intense heat generation and heavy resource diversion. The state's policy, expected to be finalised in a few months, is said to focus on the issues of siting, environmental impact and resource consumption of data centres.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, MPCB chairman Siddhesh Kadam stated that the upcoming policy aims to address these urban ecological challenges head-on by mandating sustainable operational benchmarks and strict zoning regulations.

Buffer Zones Planned Around Residential Areas

He said, “Environmental problems being caused due to upcoming data centres in the state is a matter of concern but while addressing it, we want to also address the issue wherein we want new investment to come in Maharashtra. However, while this investment comes in the state, it cannot be at the behest of the environmental concerns as well.

According to MPCB's plan, the SOPs will define mandatory buffer zones between residential clusters and industrial data facilities. To prevent urban strain, future data centres will be encouraged to set up away from densely populated areas. The policy is also expected to address the issue of high water consumption by these data centres for server cooling by mandating the use of recycled and treated wastewater instead of fresh municipal supplies.

Focus On Heat And Energy Management

The upcoming AWS data centre in Thane is also opposed by the residents out of the fear of increased noise pollution. The state's framework is expected to mandate the requirement of installing advanced acoustic barriers to suppress low-frequency hums from heavy cooling equipment and generators. Moreover, the collaboration is also focusing on potential measures to monitor and control localised ambient heat generation, along with strict regulations for energy consumption.

“In the Western countries, in the developed countries, where the data centre is already there, we've learned from those experiences as well. That's why, we are coming up with guidelines for what should be the operating measures of the data centre, and where these data centres should be,” Kadam added.

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