Modi wants India to power the AI age. Residents are pushing back

Highlights:

• Residents fight Amazon data centre rising metres from homes near Mumbai
• Locals fear power and water strain
• Amazon says it is responsible and will not use cooling water or draw power from homes
• Protests mirror global backlash against AI-era data centres

The view from Indian engineer Tushar Shetty's Mumbai apartment captures a tension playing out around the world as the artificial intelligence boom fuels an unprecedented data centre building spree.

What was once a stretch of lush greenery outside his 21st-floor window is now a scar of red earth where trees were felled to make way for an Amazon facility that forms part of the tech giant's planned $21 billion investment in AI infrastructure in India by 2030.

"I would not have bought the house if I had known," said the 46-year-old, lamenting a purchase made just five months ago.

From the suburbs of Virginia to the outskirts of Amsterdam and Dublin, residents have increasingly rebelled against the spread of AI data centres, complaining of noise, surging electricity consumption, water stress and the industrialisation of residential neighbourhoods.

That resistance is gaining ground in India, where Amazon, Google and Microsoft are pouring billions into facilities that advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambition to host "the whole world's data", stretching from Maharashtra in the west to Andhra Pradesh in the south.

Unable for now to match the frontier models emerging from the US and China, India is pursuing a different path, betting that dominance in the physical backbone of artificial intelligence may prove just as valuable.

The strategy sits at the heart of Modi's investment pitch as the world's back office loses its shine, even as the ambition collides with concerns over scarce resources and communities living alongside the infrastructure powering the digital economy.

India holds 4% of the world's freshwater for 18% of its people, and data centres are clustering in cities already short of it. S&P Global estimates 60% to 80% of Indian data centres could face high water stress this decade.

In 2025, data centres used about 150 billion litres of water, a figure projected to more than double by 2030, according to research firm Mordor Intelligence.

The Amazon project near Mumbai is emerging as one of India's most prominent flashpoints. Reuters interviews with more than two dozen residents and a review of official correspondence show growing concerns it will strain local power and water supplies and generate noise harmful to health, particularly for children and the elderly.

Amazon and local authorities have strongly defended the project, saying it will not burden public utilities because water and power will come from dedicated sources. The dispute has nevertheless sparked street protests and drawn opposition politicians into the fight.

Modi's government has also mounted a public defence, promoting data centres online as "the invisible engines powering India's digital life" and arguing modern technologies use water and electricity more efficiently.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Prime Minister's Office and Maharashtra's chief minister's office did not respond to requests for comment.

On 8 September, hundreds of residents, including elderly people, gathered beside the site holding placards reading "Data centres are energy vampires". They want the project moved elsewhere.

"If the data centre stops, we will stay ... If it goes ahead, we will move," said Vasudha Shetty, 62, who bought a flat near the 54-acre planned facility, but wants to prioritise a quiet retirement.

Amazon weighs community outreach

More than 1,000 residents living near the site say the project was pushed through without meaningful consultation.

In Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centres, Amazon paused a 2024 proposal for three facilities amid concerns over noise and proximity to homes, saying it wanted more time for community engagement. Mumbai residents say they never got that chance.

Internally, Amazon is not overly concerned because government officials have indicated the protests will pass, according to a person familiar with its planning. Still, the company is drawing up community outreach plans to address concerns over noise, water and power.

"Building data centres comes at a cost. Amazon at a global level is prepared to work with community and limit any inconvenience," the person said. "For now there is no other option but to live with protests."

Amazon told Reuters the data centre will use water-free cooling, a dedicated power supply separate from homes and noise-mitigation measures. It added that more saplings were planted than trees removed.

Still, even some industry executives question whether data centres belong next to neighbourhoods.

"I will never set up a data centre in a residential area," Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Sify Infinit Spaces, which runs 14 data centres, said at an industry event in September. "Centres need abundant, uninterrupted power and water ... and near homes they risk being starved of both in a shortage."

Microsoft has also unveiled a four-year $20.5 billion investment plan for India, mostly earmarked for AI data centres.

Political snags

In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, environmentalists are opposing Google's $15 billion data centre project, citing risks to wildlife, water and power supplies and alleging that a temple's land was used without permission. Google and the state deny any wrongdoing.

The backlash has also turned political. In September, Aaditya Thackeray, an opposition legislator, joined Mumbai protesters demanding the Amazon project be relocated, saying his party would move it if returned to power.

Back in Mumbai, property broker Atul Jadhav said buyer concerns over views and property values may be hurting nearby resale prices.

"We will come out on the roads and do whatever it takes to stop it," said Vidya Kadam, 68, who has lived in the area for 30 years.