How Data Centres Are Displacing Dalit Communities From Their Land |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aggressively positioning the country as one of the world’s leading hubs for artificial intelligence.
In February 2026, the CEOs of Google, OpenAI and Anthropic mingled with India’s business titans at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The gathering attended by more than 500,000 people in person and online was Modi’s chance to pitch India as an emerging AI powerhouse in the Global South.
“Design and develop in India,” Modi said. “Deliver to the world. Deliver to humanity.”
Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta have already pledged billions to build data centres in the country. At the summit, OpenAI joined the chorus, announcing a joint venture with Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, to build more data centres and train workers to use AI. Adani Group, owned by the second-wealthiest man in India, pledged to invest $100 billion to develop hyperscale data centres powered by renewable energy.
Both Indian and foreign companies are being rewarded handsomely for their investments. Data centre projects receive deep concessions on land and electricity. Ahead of the summit, Modi’s government announced new tax breaks allowing foreign companies building data centres to defer taxes until 2047.
Yet, across India, from Mumbai to Chennai, the unbridled growth comes with a high cost borne by the country’s most vulnerable communities. Low-income Dalit families say they are being evicted or pressured to sell their land as data centres arrive in town.
The government has postponed plans to retire ageing power plants and approved dozens of new coal-fired plants, in part to meet demand from data centres. Data centres are guaranteed uninterrupted power and water supply, even as poor communities nearby struggle to get regular access to running water.
While every proposed data centre must go through an environmental review, experts say it amounts to little more than rubber-stamping. Each project is appraised independently and they claim there is no cumulative assessment of their environmental footprint – no accounting of the combined pressure on water, power, land, or local ecosystems.
Dalit communities displaced
Real estate developers across India are cashing in — diverting large tracts of land to build data centres — the fastest-growing commercial real estate segment in India.
Developers receive generous government subsidies and........