Data centres will not touch Visakhapatnam’s drinking water, Lokesh tells Andhra Assembly
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh clarified that data centers in Visakhapatnam will not consume the city's drinking water supply. He stated that water for these facilities will be sourced from industrial allocations of the Polavaram project.
Why it matters
This addresses public concerns regarding the environmental impact of large-scale digital infrastructure on local resources.
Data centres will not take water from the taps of Visakhapatnam , Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh told the Assembly on Wednesday (August 19, 2026), answering what he called deliberate misinformation about their environmental cost.
Replying to a question from Jana Sena MLA Lokam Naga Madhavi during the Monsoon session, Mr. Lokesh said Google’s decision to invest in Visakhapatnam had brought other IT companies to look at the city. “Data centres are critical to the AI-driven digital economy and to India’s data sovereignty, particularly amid emerging geopolitical challenges,” he said.
"Water for data centres will come from the industrial allocation of Polavaram water, without diverting water meant for the city's residents," IT Minister Nara Lokesh tells the Assembly. At 6.5 GW, data centres will need about 3 tmc ft a year, he says. Video: Special Arrangement pic.twitter.com/IJCaZwMKV9
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