Visakhapatnam civil society calls for moratorium on AI data centre approvals
Civil society groups in Visakhapatnam are calling for a moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, citing environmental concerns and the displacement of tribal communities. Critics argue that the energy and water demands of these facilities are unsustainable for the region.
Why it matters
The debate highlights the tension between rapid technological infrastructure expansion and the protection of local environmental and human rights.
More than 650 delegates, including activists, researchers, legal experts and community leaders, gathered on Sunday at a People’s Convention on AI Data Centres, organised by the Society for Green Visakha at the Alluri Sitaramaraju Vignana Kendram in the city, to press for a moratorium on new hyperscale data centre approvals in Andhra Pradesh, pending an independent, cumulative environmental and social impact study.
In his welcome address, Raja Rama Mohan Roy, president, Green Visakha, said that the group sought to place “environmental justice, social justice and human dignity” at the centre of the debate, and that it was not opposed to technology but wanted “technological progress to be accompanied by equity, responsibility and sustainability.”
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