Thane residents demand Amazon relocate a 54-acre data center near their homes

Residents in Thane, outside Mumbai, want Amazon to move a planned 54-acre data center away from their homes. Reuters’ October 9 report details objections over noise, water, electricity and consultation. Amazon is defending the project with promised utility safeguards while preparing community outreach, according to a person familiar with its planning.

Amazon’s answer: separate utilities and quieter operations

Amazon told Reuters the facility will use water-free cooling, a dedicated power supply separate from homes, and noise-mitigation measures. Those commitments address three specific resident concerns: cooling demand, competition for electricity and the sound of a large facility operating nearby. They are company promises about the planned site, not measured operating results.

Amazon and local authorities say dedicated water and power sources will keep the project from burdening public utilities. The company also says it planted more saplings than the number of trees removed. Trees have already been felled at the site, replacing greenery visible from nearby apartments with cleared earth.

Residents want a different site, not just safeguards

More than 1,000 residents living near the site say the project proceeded without meaningful consultation. Reuters interviewed more than two dozen residents and reviewed official correspondence. Their concerns include pressure on local supplies and noise they fear could harm health, particularly among children and elderly people.

Hundreds gathered beside the site on September 8, including elderly residents, carrying placards that called data centers “energy vampires.” Their demand was relocation. Vasudha Shetty, 62, bought a nearby flat for a quiet retirement and told Reuters she would move if construction went ahead.

If the data centre stops, we will stay ... If it goes ahead, we will move

Vasudha Shetty, a nearby resident, speaking to Reuters

Amazon is drawing up outreach plans focused on noise, water and power, a person familiar with its planning told Reuters. The dispute has also attracted political support: opposition legislator Aaditya Thackeray joined protesters in September and said his party would relocate the project if returned to power.

A local dispute within a $21 billion investment plan

The Thane facility forms part of Amazon’s planned $21 billion investment in Indian AI infrastructure by 2030, Reuters reported. Its location puts that investment beside existing homes, where residents are contesting both the anticipated operating impacts and how the project was advanced.

Water concerns have a national backdrop. S&P Global estimates that 60% to 80% of Indian data centers could face high water stress this decade. Mordor Intelligence estimates they used about 150 billion litres in 2025 and projects that usage will more than double by 2030. Those sector-wide estimates do not describe the water demand of Amazon’s promised water-free cooling system in Thane.