TMC refers Balkum Amazon data centre objections to state government
On Thursday, Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao referred local residents' objections regarding a proposed Rs 47,000 crore Amazon data centre in Balkum, Thane, to the Maharashtra state government, stating that the issue falls outside the municipal corporation's jurisdiction. The decision was announced following a meeting at the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters, where members of the citizens' group 'Wake Up Thanekar' and representatives of Amazon Data Services India discussed the massive project.
The proposed facility, which is being developed by Amazon Data Services India on a 53-acre plot in Balkum, is expected to be among the largest and first data centre facilities in the Metropolitan Region. Despite its scale, the project has drawn significant concern from local residents who object to its location.
During the meeting, Amazon officials gave a detailed presentation on the project. However, members of the citizens' group stated that the company representatives failed to satisfactorily address key technical and environmental concerns.
Activist Dayanand Nene, representing 'Wake Up Thanekar', questioned why such a massive data centre was being constructed in the middle of a densely populated residential area. Nene noted that the group sought answers on critical issues, including heat generation, noise from nearly 190 diesel generator sets, exhaust emissions, and other environmental impacts, but did not receive satisfactory responses.
The citizens' group also claimed that the company could not clearly explain the project's water requirement. Furthermore, they raised concerns over the safety measures for storing the large quantities of diesel needed to operate the backup generators, pointing out the potential risks to the nearby residential areas.
Since the Thane Municipal Commissioner cited a lack of jurisdiction over these matters, the final decision on the proposed Rs 47,000 crore data centre and the residents' objections now rests with the Maharashtra state government.
