Naik’s comments come amid a massive pushback against data centres being set up in Thane, where citizens and activists are campaigning against their environmental impact and the diversion of essential resources such as water and electricity.
MUMBAI: Senior BJP leader and forest minister Ganesh Naik said he is opposed to data centres being set up in residential areas and encouraged citizens resisting them to challenge them in court.
“We need data centres. But since they affect people’s lives through noise and air pollution, and require large amounts of water, I think data centres should not be set up in residential areas. Protestors, who have been demonstrating for the last two months, point out that the facility is in the midst of residential complexes, schools, hospitals and other community infrastructure. Naik’s stand must be seen against the backdrop of Fadnavis’s ambitions for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), of which Thane is an integral part. The chief minister aims to transform the MMR into a massive growth driver. The state expects digital infrastructure and data centres to power this growth. But I am of the view that they should not be set up in residential areas. Data centres need huge amounts of electricity and water, and create air pollution. They have adverse effects on people’s lives and should not be set up in residential areas. But along with raising the issue on a political and administrative level, it needs to be challenged in court. If protestors challenge data centers in residential areas in court, I think the courts will definitely consider the environmental issues and adverse effects on public life.”
The protests in Thane concern data centres proposed in Balkum, Majiwada and Dhokali, particularly one currently being built by Amazon Web Services on a 54-acre plot in Balkum. An ambitious ₹ 16.7 lakh crore plan is currently underway to develop MMR into the country’s leading data centre hub, a region that will eventually host 60% of India’s data centres, Fadnavis had said in June. A September 2024 NITI Aayog report projected the region to emerge as one of the world’s leading metropolitan economies with a GDP approaching $1.5 trillion by 2047, the centennial year of India’s independence. To achieve this target, the region needs to consistently attract investments worth $135 billion over seven years.
People opposing them should also go to court.” he said. He said he understood their concerns and would take up the matter with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Addressing the media after Wednesday’s Janata Darbar, Naik said, “According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we need data centers. I told them I would convey their views to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Naik expressed his views at a Janata Darbar (people’s court) in Thane on Wednesday. On Wednesday, citizens appealed to Naik to get the data centre shifted out of the locality. The senior BJP mInister added, “People in Thane opposing data centres met me today and expressed their concerns.
Naik held the Janata Darbar in the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane city, home turf of his arch rival, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Leaders from opposition parties in Thane including the NCP (SP), as well as BJP corporators met Naik with citizens, who discussed their grievances with him.
