Residents also pointed out that Amazon’s cooling system switches from air cooling to water-based evaporative cooling when ambient temperatures exceed approximately 29.4 degrees Celsius, as per its website
Thane locals protesting the construction of an Amazon data centre near their residential areas have flagged glaring discrepancies in the water consumption requirements flagged by the company before the public and government officials. Organisers of the WakeUp Thanekars (WUT) have alleged mismatch between the water consumption levels estimated for the Balkum data centre in Thane and demanded that the company “set the record straight.”While Amazon’s recent factsheet said the data centre will require 0.01 MLD or 10 KLD (10,000 litres/day) water consumption, its State Level Expert Appraisal Committee in August 2025 claimed a 125 KLD water requirement. Worse still local authorities in recent media reports said the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is to supply 12 MLD (12,000KLD).New disclosure“This is Amazon’s most specific new disclosure and creates a documented discrepancy that requires explanation. These three figures cannot all be simultaneously accurate without a detailed explanation of what each one covers. None of the three gaps have been explained publicly,” said the WUT in a letter to Amazon. businessline reached out to the tech giant regarding these concerns and didn’t receive any response until the time of going to print. On the government side, TMC authorities told businessline that the matter has been escalated to higher officials with a meeting pending between WUT and the Principal Secretary Industries of the state government. MP Naresh Mhaske said he will raise the matter before the Parliament during zero hour. Ambiguity in Usage Residents also pointed out that Amazon’s cooling system switches from air cooling to water-based evaporative cooling when ambient temperatures exceed approximately 29.4 degrees Celsius, as per its website. Thane’s average annual temperature is approximately 30.33 degrees Celsius “This question can be resolved immediately. Amazon should publish the Balkum-specific cooling system description, the basis for the 0.01 MLD figure, and the explanation for why the TMC has allocated 12 MLD,” said WUT. Further to Amazon’s statement that it returned 120 per cent of water in India in 2025, the group asked for a site-specific measurement of the same. “The question for residents of Balkum is not what Amazon’s national aggregate figure is. It is what the facility beside their homes will draw from a city that already runs 30 MLD short of its daily requirement,” said WUT, adding that as per Amazon’s corporate disclosures, the methodology for this calculation excludes the water consumed in generating the electricity that powers its facilities. Electricity consumption Aside from water, residents noted a total power requirement of 422 MW drawn from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company for the data centre. It asked the cumulative regional demand, generation planning, or infrastructure cost allocation for the same.“A dedicated substation describes how electricity reaches the Balkum site through its own high-voltage connection rather than residential distribution feeders. This is a point about distribution architecture, not about generation capacity,” said residents. Beyond this, WUT asked the company to share the environmental clearance documents for the project including Water, Sewer, and Storm Water Drainage NOC details, CRZ Notification check and the six-monthly compliance reports. WUT claimed none of these documents were available on the government’s PARIVESH portal or in newspaper archives. The procedure also requires Amazon to advertise the grant of clearance in at least two local newspapers. Accordingly, residents have asked the tech giant to clarify details on these advertisements. While protests against data centres near residential areas have been common in the US, this is the first-time a people-led protest has been reported in India. After the protest in Thane on Saturday, there have been reports of similar protests in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Published on July 20, 2026
