Sridhar Babu defends TCS data centre amid power and water concerns

The Telangana government has defended the establishment of a Rs 70,000 crore TCS AI Data Centre in Hyderabad, despite concerns over its power and water consumption. IT Minister D Sridhar Babu told the Assembly that the project would create 22,000 jobs and generate significant revenue.

Hyderabad: Admitting that data centres are considered power and water guzzlers, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu defended the establishment of the TCS AI Data Centre on 264 acres in the city, stating that the project would generate revenue for the government.

The data centre is being established with an investment of Rs.70,000 crore in the State. It would generate 7,000 direct jobs and nearly 15,000 indirect jobs, he said during Question Hour in the Assembly on Friday.

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“It will take two to three years to construct the data centre. Plumbers, electricians and construction workers will get employment. The construction industry will also benefit,” Sridhar Babu said.

The State government had earlier announced that HyperVault, a subsidiary of TCS, would establish the data centre. The facility is expected to be ready by June 2028.

However, concerns have been raised by different sections over the environmental impact of the data centre and its requirements for power and water.

BJP MLA from Sirpur Palvai Harish Babu said people across the world were opposing the establishment of data centres because of their heavy power and water requirements. He also referred to a Harvard Gazette article titled “Why are communities against data centres”.

The State government was boasting about the investment, but the project would generate only 7,000 direct jobs, he said. Apart from this, the data centre would require uninterrupted power supply round the clock and substantial quantities of water on a continuous basis. He called for a debate on the issue.

Acknowledging that people across the globe were raising concerns over data centres, the IT Minister said the United States and China were not stopping the establishment of such facilities.

“Water coolant and new technologies have come up to address the water requirement issue. Similarly, the State government will ensure that power supply to domestic, irrigation and industrial sectors is not affected due to the data centre’s power requirement,” he assured.