IndiaPosted at: Sep 27 2026 12:07PM


Pawan Khera questions Maha’s water priorities as drought hits 265 Talukas, data-centre expansion gathers pace

New Delhi, Sep 27 (UNI) Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday questioned the Maharashtra government’s water allocation priorities, asking whether farmers and ordinary citizens would be given precedence over the expanding data-centre industry as nearly three-fourths of the state’s talukas face drought conditions.
In a post on social media platform X, Khera said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had officially declared drought in 265 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas, even as the state pursued an ambitious expansion of its data-centre infrastructure.
Pointing to Maharashtra’s efforts to attract more than USD 300 billion in investment interest for data centres and its target of achieving 5.7 gigawatts of capacity by 2032, Khera raised concerns over the availability of water and electricity for the proposed expansion amid widespread drought.
“Data centres require two critical resources: power and water,” he said, adding that their water consumption depended on the cooling technology employed.
However, he stressed that water requirements remained a significant consideration, particularly in a water-stressed state such as Maharashtra.
The Congress leader also questioned 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 subsequently be supplied to data centres and other industries for a price.
While such an arrangement could provide industries with an alternative source of water and potentially reduce their dependence on freshwater supplies, Khera questioned why comparable urgency had not been demonstrated in ensuring reliable access to reclaimed water for farmers.
“When nearly three-fourths of Maharashtra is officially under drought, what is the government’s plan to ensure that the state’s water resources are not diverted away from farmers and ordinary citizens to fuel this massive data-centre expansion?” he asked.
Raising the issue of competing demands for water, Khera said the government needed to clarify who would receive priority in a state facing persistent agrarian distress. “In a state like Maharashtra — which has one of India’s highest farmer-suicide rates — who has the first right over water: farmers or data centres?” he asked.
He argued that if the government was prepared to establish an extensive network for treating sewage and reclaiming water for industrial use, it should explain why similar efforts had not been directed towards ensuring dependable supplies of treated wastewater for agriculture.
According to Khera, access to reclaimed water could help ease the distress faced by the farming community, particularly in drought-affected regions, and reduce pressure on freshwater resources.
He questioned why the government had not demonstrated the same urgency in addressing farmers’ water requirements as it had in facilitating industrial expansion. Maharashtra has been positioning itself as a major destination for data-centre investments, with the proposed expansion expected to increase demand for supporting infrastructure, including electricity and water.
Data centres require substantial electricity to operate and maintain servers, while their water requirements vary according to the cooling systems and technologies used. The use of treated wastewater can offer an alternative to freshwater for certain industrial purposes, although its availability, treatment requirements and distribution infrastructure remain important considerations.
Khera’s intervention has brought the competing demands of industrial development, agriculture and household consumption into focus, particularly as drought conditions intensify pressure on the state’s water resources.
His questions centre on whether the government has a clear plan to ensure that the expansion of data centres does not compromise the availability of water for farmers and ordinary residents. The Congress leader has also sought clarity on whether the proposed reclaimed-water infrastructure would be sufficient to meet the needs of expanding industries while ensuring dependable supplies for agriculture.
The issue highlights the broader challenge before Maharashtra of balancing its investment ambitions with water conservation, agricultural requirements and the needs of drought-affected communities.
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