The Human Rights Forum (HRF) demands the immediate suspension of the Environmental Clearances granted to two hyperscale data-center parks in Vizag. It said the projects must be reclassified and subjected to a fresh appraisal through full Environmental Impact Assessments, with statutory public hearings conducted in all affected villages.
Groundxero | April 28, 2026
Visakhapatnam, April 27: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has called for the immediate suspension of environmental clearances granted to two proposed hyperscale data centre parks in Andhra Pradesh, alleging regulatory misclassification, a deeply flawed clearance process that has bypassed environmental safeguards and excluded local affected communities from the decision-making process.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the rights group said the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) had granted clearances on April 18 to the projects at Tarluvada in Visakhapatnam district and Rambilli in Anakapalli district. The two facilities—Vizag Mega Data Center Park Limited and Vizag Rambilli Data Center Park Limited—are part of large-scale infrastructure investments reportedly linked to the Adani Group.
According to HRF, what was initially presented as a single 1 GW Google-led hyperscale AI data centre with a capacity of 1 GW (1000 MW) has now taken the form of two separate hyperscale AI data centers, each with a capacity of 1 GW. The organisation argued that the projects, taken together, represent a massive industrial footprint that warranted comprehensive environmental scrutiny.
The group alleged that both projects were cleared under Schedule Item 8(a) of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, which categorises them as “Building/Construction Projects” under Category B2. This classification exempts projects from detailed environmental impact assessments, public hearings, and scoping requirements. HRF said that these clearances fall far short of acceptable environmental and regulatory standards, and were approved without meaningful scrutiny, reducing the clearance process to a hollow, procedural exercise devoid of substance.
“It must be recognised that these data centers are no ordinary infrastructure projects. They are massive, energy and water-intensive industrial installations and involve significant land and resource footprints,” the statement said, pointing to their combined grid demand of 1,626 MW, a diesel backup capacity of nearly 1,000 MW across more than 350 generators, and large-scale on-site fuel storage. HRF contended that classifying such projects under a category meant for construction activity is meant to avoid comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments, public hearings and detailed scrutiny of alternatives and impacts. “This is not a mere technicality but the very mechanism through which meaningful scrutiny has been evaded,” said HRF.
The organisation further alleged that the appraisal process lacked rigour, with both projects relying on near-identical Environmental Management Plans prepared by the same consultancy firm. “This is not expert scrutiny; it is replication,” the statement said, adding that key questions relating to water consumption, air pollution from diesel generators, ecological impacts, and cumulative effects on surrounding communities had not been adequately addressed.
HRF also raised concerns over what it called a “democratic deficit” in the clearance process. By placing the projects in a category that does not require public hearings, local communities in Tarluvada and Rambilli were “neither informed nor consulted”, the group said. It argued that this undermines participatory rights recognised under environmental law and judicial interpretations of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The group questioned the economic justification these hyperscale data centers, which despite official claims, create only a negligible number of jobs. Citing the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEF & CC’s) own figures that the Rambilli facility would generate around 650 permanent jobs and the Tarluvada project about 575, HRF said, “these figures highlight how little these projects offer in return for their vast footprint, marked by, among other things, enormous water and energy consumption.”
Criticising the role of regulatory bodies, HRF said both the SEIAA and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) had failed to exercise independent oversight. It alleged that the appraisal process was confined to narrow pollution parameters, with little attention to broader environmental and social implications, and marked by a lack of transparency.
The organisation argued that the approvals reflect a broader pattern in which large projects are fast-tracked by placing them in regulatory categories that avoid detailed scrutiny. “Environmental assessment is reduced to form without substance,” it said.
HRF has demanded that the clearances be suspended pending a fresh review, with the projects reclassified in line with their scale and subjected to full environmental impact assessments, including mandatory public hearings. It also called for independent studies by accredited institutions to assess water use, air pollution, ecological risks and climate implications, and urged that all construction activities be halted until a comprehensive review is completed.
Additionally, the group has sought full public disclosure of project documents, land allocation details, and ownership structures, along with independent verification of compliance with safety and hazardous materials regulations. It also recommended the establishment of community monitoring mechanisms and regular public reporting of environmental indicators.
Calling for broader policy changes, HRF urged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to create a dedicated regulatory category for data centres under the EIA framework, with stricter thresholds and mandatory provisions for public participation.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of large-scale infrastructure projects in ecologically sensitive and densely populated regions, where concerns over environmental compliance and public consultation have increasingly come to the fore.
Also Read: Google-Adani Data Centre in Vizag a Looming Environmental and Economic Disaster, warns HRF