Congress Questions Maharashtra's Data-Centre Push as Drought Hits 265 Talukas
With drought declared in 265 of Maharashtra's 358 talukas, the Congress has questioned the State's data-centre expansion and its water implications.
The Congress on Sunday questioned the Maharashtra government's push to expand the data-centre industry, asking how the State plans to keep water resources from being diverted away from farmers and citizens, after drought was declared in 265 of Maharashtra's 358 talukas.
The drought declaration, made on Saturday, covers 74% of the State and follows a rainfall deficit. It comes with relief measures including crop loan restructuring, land revenue concessions and subsidies on power bills.
A government resolution issued late on Friday said the 265 affected talukas are spread across 32 districts. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division has the highest number of drought-hit talukas, at 74. A separate order issued on Saturday said financial assistance for crop losses in these talukas will be detailed in a later resolution, after the prescribed procedure is followed.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed district collectors to begin crop-damage assessments immediately and said farmers remain at the centre of the government's relief efforts.
Raising the issue, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the drought declaration coincides with the State's aggressive expansion of its data-centre industry. He noted that Maharashtra has drawn over $300 billion in investment interest for data centres and is targeting 5.7 GW of capacity by 2032.
Data centres, he said, depend on two critical resources — power and water — and while consumption varies with the cooling technology used, water demand is a significant consideration in water-stressed regions such as Maharashtra.
Mr. Khera referred to reported plans under which municipal corporations would treat sewage, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation would further purify it, and the reclaimed water would be sold to data centres and other industries. He asked what the government's plan is to ensure that the State's water resources are not diverted from farmers and ordinary citizens to fuel the expansion.
In a State with one of India's highest farmer-suicide rates, he asked who holds the first right over water — farmers or data centres. He also questioned why, if the State can build a network to treat and reclaim water for industry, similar urgency has not been shown in supplying reliable reclaimed water to farmers, which he said could ease the distress driving suicides.