Andhra Pradesh High Court: Declines to Halt Google-Adani Data Centre Project

Home / News updates Andhra Pradesh HC Refuses to Halt Google-Adani’s $15 Billion Data Centre X Google-Adani data centre faces environmental scrutiny in Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh High Court declines to halt the $15 billion Visakhapatnam data centre while questioning its environmental clearance and proposed water and electricity use. The Andhra Pradesh High Court has refused to stay the construction of Google-Adani’s proposed $15 billion data centre in Visakhapatnam, even as it questioned the State government over the approvals granted for the project. Court was hearing a public interest litigation ( PIL ) challenging the approvals and raising concerns over the environmental implications of the proposed data centre. During the proceedings, court sought clarity on the environmental clearance granted to the project, besides questioning its proposed consumption of water and electricity. Court also observed that environmental clearance cannot be given a go-by. The Andhra Pradesh government, in response, assured the high court that all steps being taken in connection with the data centre were in accordance with the prescribed laws. PIL questions environmental clearance, resource use The PIL has alleged violations of norms in the process of granting environmental clearance for the project. It has also questioned the proposed use of massive quantities of water and electricity that would be required for operating the data centre. The petition further referred to incentives worth around ₹22,000 crore that were made available for building the data centre. While the high court has not ordered a halt to the construction, the questions raised during the hearing have put the project's regulatory approvals and resource requirements under scrutiny. The high court is expected to resume hearing the matter next week. 1 GW facility expected to create nearly 2 lakh jobs Google's proposed data centre is also being projected by the Andhra Pradesh government as a major economic and employment-generating project for the State. Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh had told media that the $15 billion AI data centre project could generate close to 2 lakh jobs and provide a significant boost to the State's economy. Speaking after the foundation-laying ceremony in Visakhapatnam on April 29, Lokesh said the proposed facility, with a capacity of 1 gigawatt, was not merely a standalone investment but part of a much larger ecosystem being developed in Andhra Pradesh. According to Lokesh, the State government is also working on complementary sectors around the data centre, including renewable energy, battery storage, server manufacturing and power electronics. He said the employment generated by the project would extend beyond direct hiring at the data centre. Jobs are expected to be created across sectors such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud operations, manufacturing and infrastructure services. Additional employment opportunities are also expected to emerge in ancillary industries supporting data centre operations. Environmentalists oppose project At the same time, the proposed data centre has faced opposition from environmentalists in Visakhapatnam. In recent weeks, activists and children have taken part in marches in the city to protest the project. According to social media posts, protesters carried banners bearing the message, “We cannot drink DATA” and painted handcuffs on the Google logo. The environmental opposition has centred on concerns over the project's consumption of water and electricity, issues that have also been raised before the high court through the PIL.