The Maharashtra government’s declaration of drought in 265 of the state’s 358 talukas has prompted the Congress to question the policy of aggressively expanding the data-centre industry, particularly over concerns about water allocation.
The government on Saturday declared drought across 265 talukas, covering nearly 74 per cent of the state, amid a rainfall deficit. It announced several relief measures, including restructuring of crop loans, concessions on land revenue and subsidies on electricity bills.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had officially declared drought in 265 talukas, while Maharashtra continues to pursue large-scale investment in the data-centre sector.
Khera said the state had attracted more than USD 300 billion in investment interest for data centres and was targeting 5.7 GW of data-centre capacity by 2032.
“Data centres require two critical resources: power and water. The amount of water they consume depends on the cooling technology used, but water requirement is an important consideration, particularly in water-stressed regions like Maharashtra,” Khera said in a post on X.
He also raised questions over a reported government plan under which municipal corporations would treat sewage, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) would further purify it, and the reclaimed water would then be supplied to data centres and other industries.
Khera asked how the government planned to ensure that water resources were not diverted from farmers and ordinary citizens to support the expansion of the data-centre industry while nearly three-fourths of the state remained under drought.
He also questioned whether farmers or data centres should have priority in access to water in a state facing significant agricultural distress.
“If the state is prepared to set up a network to treat sewage and reclaim water for industry, why has no such urgency been shown in providing reliable reclaimed water for farmers — which could help reduce the distress driving farmer suicides?” Khera said.
According to a government resolution issued late on Friday, the 265 drought-affected talukas are spread across 32 districts and account for 74 per cent of Maharashtra. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division has the highest number of affected talukas, with 74.
A separate government order issued on Saturday said another government resolution would be issued regarding financial assistance for crop losses suffered by farmers in the affected talukas, following the prescribed assessment procedure.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed district collectors to begin crop-damage assessments immediately and said farmers would remain at the centre of the government’s relief efforts.
(With inputs from PTI)