Letter by Shri E A S Sarma, Former Secretary to the Government of India to the Union Home Secretary and Union I&B Secretary
To
Shri Govind Mohan
Union Home Secretary
Shri Chanchal Kumar
Union I&B Secretary
Dear S/Shri Govind Mohan and Chanchal Kumar,
The AP Government has thoughtlessly approved the setting up of highly water-intensive 6.5 GW of data centres in and around Visakhapatnam, unmindful of their adverse impact on the already precarious water scarcity situation faced by the people in these parts. The fact that those in power in the State had hurriedly given clearances for those data centres without prior public consultation shows that they are afraid of people’s views and their eagerness to please foreign data centre companies.
The people of Visakhapatnam have questioned the decisions taken by AP government behind their back and mobilised public opinion based on hard facts and figures which the authorities find difficult to rebut.
As a part of the people’s movement here, a portal, “Stop Vizag Data Centers” has been put up on the Instagram, providing information to the people on data centres, their adverse environmental implications and the human rights violations that they are causing.
Unable to face the people, the local authorities, prompted by the local political leadership, have apparently asked the Instagram platform to block the portal, a clear indication of the lack of respect of those leaders for human rights and democracy.
I have extracted below the response of the “Stop Vizag Data Centers” for your ready reference:
“On 19th September 2026, we were informed by Meta that our Instagram account ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ was restricted in India in ‘pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology Rules’. Prior to restricting our account in India, 9 of our posts were also restricted.”
The ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ campaign account garnered more than 56 lakh views and 11,800 followers in a short span of two months. It engaged with widespread concerns on the development of AI data centers in and around Visakhapatnam in relation to the perceived inevitability and non–transparency associated with hyperscalers, and the socio-ecological costs that are imposed on the people of Vizag.
The censorship, although arbitrary, wasn’t sudden by any means. Over the last few weeks, we received a series of restriction orders, targeting 9 of our posts. Content critical of AI data centers has been taken down in India on Instagram on a noticeable scale- with hundred-odd posts from various organizations and personal accounts, and, ironically, an investigative documentary by a reporters’ collective. Taking down of the Instagram account in toto for an indefinite time, however, is a first; and of a general concern- for the process of takedown completely bypasses deliberation of any form before reaching the decision.
It is now abundantly clear that the Andhra IT minister’s claims of welcoming public debate and addressing people’s concerns are utterly hollow. Suppressing critical voices can never be a substitute for transparency and democratic accountability.
We condemn this restriction in the strongest terms and demand that Meta restore our account at the earliest.”
Those in the AP government who have asked Instagram to block the portal in India have not apparently fulfilled the legal requirement of providing the grounds for proposing to block the portal and giving an opportunity to the Stop Vizag Data Centers campaigners to respond to it. I suppose that for those who have no respect for democracy cannot be expected to have respect for the rule of law.
I request you, if you yourself have any respect for the rule of law, to get this matter investigated urgently and take appropriate measures to restore the said Instagram portal. In addition, if such an investigation reveals misuse of the relevant statutory provisions, I request you to ask the concerned authorities to tender a public apology in the matter for resorting to such a highly condemnable measure.
I am circulating this letter widely among the public for a debate on the role of political leaders vis-a-vis their nexus with private companies, and their misleading statements on “development”. Those 6.5 MW data centres are being indirectly subsidised by dalits of Tarulavada, adivasis of Polavaram and the public at large, with no tangible benefits for the people in terms of employment. Their only contribution locally seems to be in terms of worsening the water scarcity of this region.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Visakhapatnam
20th September 2026
-E.A.S.Sarma 14-40-4/1 Gokhale Road Maharanipeta Visakhapatnam 530002 Mobile: 91-9866021646 Email: eassarma@gmail.com Website: http://eassarma.in