Development should be people-centric, eco-friendly says Rajendra Singh

Water conservationist Rajendra Singh (left) with Jal Biradari national convener Bolisetty Satyanarayana.

Rajendra Singh, the founder of Jal Biradari and widely known as the ‘Waterman of India’, demanded that the State government should reveal full details of all environmental, forest and water-use permissions, land allocation and lease agreements related to the Google hyperscale data centre proposed to be set up near Visakhapatnam, and ensure strict compliance with laws concerning the eco-sensitive zone of Kambalakonda and surrounding water resources.

Addressing media persons along Jal Biradari National Convener Bolisetty Satyanarayana here on Thursday, Mr. Rajendra Singh said any development should be people - centric and duly focused on public participation, environmental protection and the interests of future generations.

He noted that development achieved by destroying forests, rivers, lakes, agricultural lands and natural resources could not be considered real progress, while noting that India ranking 176 among 177 countries in the 2026 Environmental Performance Index was a dire warning.

As far as the Google data centre was concerned, he questioned what was the net benefit after giving incentives of nearly Rs.22,000 crore for the 1,000 - MW project apart from the creation of a measly 500 jobs.

Speaking about the construction of the capital city Amaravati, he insisted that the 2–3 km wide stretch of land parallel to the River Krishna must be used exclusively for agriculture and the development of blue - green infrastructure as stipulated in the environmental clearance.

Mr. Singh said construction of the greenfield capital city did not appear to be legally compliant, pointing to alleged non - adherence to some of the conditions laid down in Environmental Clearance No. SEIAA /AP/GTN-151/2015, dated October 9, 2026 pertaining to Krishna River and local agricultural lands.

He also demanded that an independent assessment of the Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project in Chintalapudi–Recherla belt of Eluru district should be done and steps taken to protect the 8,700 acres of agricultural land in its vicinity.

He asked what the justification was for the UCG project when the world was moving toward cleaner, renewable energy, and cautioned against neglecting the experiences of similar projects, such as Link Energy's in Queensland, Australia, which was abandoned due to the environmental risks associated with the technology.