Rights organisations insist that citizens have the right to know the safeguards contained in the MoU, especially given its potential impact on water, energy use, land and data governance in the State.
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) and the United Forum for RTI Campaign (UFRTI) have demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government disclose details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Google for the proposed data centre and allied investments in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts.
In a release on Saturday, HRF’s A.P. and Telangana Coordination Committee member V.S. Krishna and UFRTC co-convener Chakradhar Buddha said, “It is widely acknowledged that such large data centres will exert significant pressure on the State’s already stressed power and water infrastructure.”
“Moreover, without access to the MoU, how will civil society organisations, concerned citizens, and researchers assess whether adequate environmental safeguards, social impact assessments, data localisation safeguards, privacy protections, requisite oversight mechanisms, and data privacy frameworks have been built into the agreement?” they questioned.
“Decisions taken in the name of people must be open to public scrutiny. The State government must immediately upload all documents relating to the MoU on an official public platform,” they demanded.
“The government has been projecting the MoU as a landmark investment and game-changer with far reaching economic benefits and that it will position the State as a digital infrastructure hub. But, it has refused to make the contents of the MoU available in the public domain. It clearly violates the basic principles of the Right to Information Act, 2005,” they observed.
Citizens had the right to know the safeguards contained in the MoU, especially given its potential impact on water, energy use, land and data governance in the State, they said.
“The Google Data Center, which is said to involve an investment of $15 billion, is signed in secrecy, erodes public trust and undermines democratic oversight. A formal RTI application seeking access to the MoU has been rejected recently by the Andhra Pradesh Government citing confidentiality. This refusal not only violates the letter and spirit of the RTI Act but also raises concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency in matters related to critical public resources,” they said.
Published – December 06, 2025 07:11 pm IST
