Aaditya Thackeray has opposed the proposed Thane data centre and the city’s internal circular metro project, citing concerns over water consumption, noise, diesel storage, environmental impact and the proposed felling of around 3,500 trees. He called for the data centre to be shifted to an MIDC red zone.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday opposed the proposed data centre at Balkum in central Thane, saying a 22-storey facility planned across 53 acres would place additional pressure on the surrounding urban environment. He raised concerns about noise pollution, heat, water use and the project’s wider ecological impact.
Thackeray made the remarks while speaking to residents near the proposed data centre site at Balkum. Citizens and social organisations in Thane have also begun opposing the data centre and the proposed internal circular metro project, according to the report.
Thackeray claimed that large quantities of water would be required for cooling the data centre and that around five lakh litres of diesel would be stored for its generators. He also questioned how residents would live in the area if the facility generated noise levels of up to 90 decibels continuously for 24 hours. These claims were made during his interaction with local residents and were not independently verified in the report.
He further said that data from the facility would be used mainly in other countries and argued that the project would therefore provide limited benefit to India. Thackeray demanded that the data centre be relocated to an MIDC red zone, though the report did not specify the alternative site or whether any relocation decision has been considered by the authorities.
The Shiv Sena leader also opposed the proposed internal circular metro project in Thane. He said the project could involve the removal of approximately 3,500 trees and criticised what he described as increasing concretisation in the city in the name of development. Thane is widely associated with its tree cover, and the proposed tree loss has become a central concern among opponents of the project.
Thackeray said that development should be sustainable and accused the current economic approach of favouring contractors and builders. He told residents that his party would support their campaign and warned that, if his government came to power, the data centre would be removed from the proposed location.
The report did not include responses from the Thane municipal authorities, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the data centre developer or the agencies responsible for the internal circular metro project. It also did not provide details of the project’s approvals, environmental assessment, water requirement, construction schedule or tree-transplantation plan.
