Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday defended the development of data centres in the state, saying the government was preparing policies and creating awareness of having the data centres and its benefits in the city.
Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Fadnavis acknowledged that data centre projects had faced opposition in several countries, including India, but maintained that the state government was working to address residents' concerns.
'Need To Educate People': CM
Fadnavis noted that data centres have met with opposition across the world. "Some of it has happened here as well, but not at that scale. People tend to pick up the negative aspect very fast,” Fadnavis said.
The Chief Minister stressed the need to educate residents about the benefits of data centres while explaining the measures being taken to minimise their environmental impact.
His remarks came amid opposition from residents in Thane to a proposed hyperscale data centre being developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Protests Against Data Centre
In July, hundreds of residents from Thane's Balkum and Majiwada areas staged protests against Amazon's proposed 53-acre data centre. The demonstrations were organised under the banner of the Wake Up Thanekar citizens' group.
Residents argued that the project was being developed in a densely populated neighbourhood, with several homes, schools and hospitals in the area.
They raised concerns about the project's potential impact on local water resources, electricity supply, noise levels and the surrounding environment.
Government Preparing FAQs To Address Concerns
Responding to such objections, Fadnavis said the state government was preparing frequently asked questions (FAQs) and developing policies to explain the benefits and potential environmental implications of data centre projects.
“We have to try to educate people about it. We are preparing FAQs, coming up with policies to educate people on what the result is, benefits, how will we mitigate, how will we provide water, how will we provide electricity, what will be the effect of heating on the neighbourhood and the ecosystem,” Fadnavis said, as quoted by Moneycontrol.
The chief minister expressed confidence that Maharashtra would continue to be a leader in terms of data centres.
Maharashtra Hosts 65% Of India's Data Centre Capacity
Earlier, in August, Fadnavis highlighted Maharashtra's position in India's expanding digital infrastructure sector.
He said Mumbai and Navi Mumbai had emerged as important data centre hubs, with Maharashtra accounting for approximately 65 per cent of the country's data centre capacity.
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