Standing on the banks of Solapur’s Ujani Reservoir, the breeze carries both the scent of fresh irrigation water and intense political debate. But on the ground in rural Maharashtra, local farmers, fishermen, and political leaders have raised red flags, fearing these massive projects will swallow up precious local resources.
Across India, data centers are often called the “digital kitchens” powering our daily online lives, artificial intelligence, and data security.
The political clash reached a high point when NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar strongly criticised the development, alleging that Maharashtra is being turned into a dumping ground for resource-hungry projects while employment-heavy semiconductor factories go to other states. Power for the data centre will be pulled directly from a high-voltage grid line, ensuring that rural electricity meant for farms and homes remains completely untouched. He said the green hydrogen plan was scrapped due to technical issues and potential pollution risks, while the nuclear option was completely ruled out.
The original MoU is now being revised to focus on just three components: a 1,400-MW AI data centre, floating solar panels, and a battery storage facility. On power and jobs, official numbers show that the facility will generate around 2,800 permanent jobs, alongside thousands of indirect opportunities during construction and local supply-chain operations.
Other critics dubbed the initiative a form of “pollution colonialism”, alleging that high-tech hubs will gobble up local water and power while giving very little back to nearby villages. Addressing the biggest worries, Karthikeyan said the state government is officially scaling back the original proposal to protect local interests. “Neither a nuclear reactor nor a green hydrogen plant is going to be built here,” he clarified.
