NGT Flags Gaps In Environmental Clearance For Google-Adani Vizag Data Centre Project, Impleads Environment Ministry

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone at Chennai, has recently flagged regulatory gaps in the environmental clearances granted for the proposed ₹17,700 crore Google-Adani mega data centre project in Visakhapatnam.

It observed that public consultation and site-specific environmental conditions had not been taken into account while granting the clearances.

The Tribunal also noted that authorities appeared to have overlooked heat generation and certain categories of waste while considering the project under the category for building and construction projects. It accordingly impleaded the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and appointed Senior Advocate Sanjay Upadhyay as amicus curiae to assist it.

A coram of Judicial Member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Expert Member Dr. Sujit Kumar Bajpayee heard the matter.

The proceedings arise from challenges to the environmental clearance granted on June 10, 2026, to Vizag Hyperscale Data Centre Park Limited, a special purpose vehicle of Adani Infra (India) Limited. The clearance was granted for a proposed 512 MW data centre at Adavivaram and Mudasarlova villages in Andhra Pradesh.

The Tribunal noted that the clearances were granted under Item 8(a) of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, which covers building and construction projects. It observed that regulatory gaps concerning public consultation and site-specific environmental conditions had not been taken into account for the proposed mega data centre park.

The Bench further observed that data centre servers generate heat during operation and may overheat and fail if the heat is not adequately removed. It noted that the authorities appeared to have considered aspects such as waste, drainage and parking while overlooking e-waste, battery waste, used oil waste and, importantly, heat generation.

"It is a well-known fact that data storage systems, including those used by streaming platforms, rely on servers that generate heat as a by-product of their operation. If the heat generated is not adequately removed, the servers may overheat and fail," the Tribunal observed.

The NGT also noted that the environmental clearances estimated e-waste generation at 6 tonnes per annum, battery waste at 200 tonnes per annum, and used oil waste at 8,000 litres per annum. It pointed out that the EIA Notification does not provide a specific category for mega data centre projects.

The Tribunal further observed that India's Draft Data Centre Policy, 2020, had not been finalised. It said that it would have been appropriate for the authorities to consider the policy's provisions before granting environmental clearance.

"In view of the availability of the said draft policy, it would have been appropriate for the authorities to consider its provisions before issuing the Environmental Clearance," the Tribunal observed.

The proceedings include a challenge by former Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation corporator Boddu Ganga Rao. He has alleged that the project is located approximately 750 metres from the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary and 470 metres from its notified Eco-Sensitive Zone.

He has also challenged the classification of the project as a Category B2 construction project.

The NGT had earlier, on October 16, sought the Union Government's response to Ganga Rao's plea.

The Tribunal directed the MoEFCC to file its response by November 20, 2026. It also directed all respondents to file their respective replies before the next hearing on December 7, 2026.

For the Appellants: Sr. Adv Nagasaila, along with. Advocate V. Suresh, NS Tanvi, Kavya. K & Ananya. P., R. Jayaprakash, K. Chandrasekaran, S. Faheem Ahmed, R.S. Maitreya., Kothai Muthu Meenal

For the Respondents: Om Prakash,, Senior Advocate, Advocates K. Ravindranath R. Yella Reddy & Manthan Raj Sharma, Swarnalatha, R. Thirunavukarasu, K. Ravindranath, R. Yella Reddy, Manthan Raj Sharma & Anshika Yadav, P. Giridharan, S. Sai Sathya Jith, Muthuchharan Sundresh