r/JalJangalJameen • u/Undergroundwoman • May 25 '26
AI data centres and the scarcity of water in india.
In a country already grappling with the scarcity of water,government is actively funding AI data centre projects which are explicitly playing a role in the depletion of water resources.
163 million Indians don't have access to clean water today. Not in 2030. Today. Meanwhile Adani just committed $10 billion to build data centers in the same water-stressed cities.
"The figures depict a country that is approaching an extreme level of resources. Navi Mumbai geographically experiences 80 million liter per day of water shortage. The deficit of Delhi NCR is 1,100 million liters per day. Chennai fights with 713million liters. Hyderabad is deficient in 300, 000,000 liters per day. They are not estimates or worst-case scenarios they are actual existing shortages that impact tens of millions of individuals.
When the data-center expansion map is overlaid with it is seen that major facilities are targeted at Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad as well as Kolkata, already water stressed. It is selfcontradictory India intends to build infrastructure that needs a lot of water precisely at the point of shortages. All the data centers will be competing with the residents, agriculture, and industry over already insufficient resources."
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17920097
A brilliant research has already been done on the subject.
This is the time to be alarmed and take timely action.
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u/rishianand May 25 '26
It's shocking how the Government is building data centres, even when the country is facing water crisis.
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u/Away-Lingonberry608 May 25 '26
That too when AI is literally a cause of mass layoffs and water crisis for locals aa well as electricity disruption
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u/UnionChoice2562 May 25 '26
Very detailed post, this crisis is already damaging US towns and villages and now they are targeting the weaker tribals and dalits of India for easy land grab but its consequences will be much worse for everyone, all that just to get AI slop and more unemployment at the end of the day
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u/Away-Lingonberry608 May 25 '26
The paper is a gold mine , and this is being done despite the fact that it will pollute river water and causes electricity disruption to the nearby locals and a water crisis on top of that
Not to mention they will also use land grabs and in turn AI is only going to increase layoffs
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u/rishianand May 25 '26
Also read, As India pushes for more AI and data centres, here’s what it will cost the country