Pune: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, MP Dheeryasheel Mohite Patil and other party members on Saturday led an agitation near Ujani dam, opposing the proposed battery storage, artificial intelligence (AI)-based data centre and floating solar projects. They claimed the projects could require 7-9 TMC of water from the reservoir, potentially affecting drinking water and irrigation supplies.The party members also alleged that the projects could contribute to air and noise pollution, generate substantial heat, affect wildlife and aquatic habitats and adversely impact fishing activities.The Solapur district administration and the state irrigation department, however, dismissed the concerns, saying claims of a 9 TMC water requirement were “false”. Officials clarified that the proposed data centre project would require only 0.42 TMC of water annually, with maximum consumption capped at 0.5 TMC. “Water allocations for agriculture would remain unaffected and there would be no reduction in irrigation supplies,” an official said, rejecting claims that nearly 5 lakh farmers would lose access to water because of the project.Addressing concerns over the floating solar project, the officials said 91% of the reservoir area would remain open, while solar installations would cover only about 9% of the surface area. “The solar panels are proposed in deeper sections of the reservoir and the remaining area would continue to be available for fishing and other activities,” another official said.State govt had signed a memorandum of understanding for the project on April 16, positioning it as a flagship green data centre initiative. Solapur collector S Karthikeyan said the project was expected to attract significant investment, generate jobs, improve local infrastructure and create new opportunities in the information technology sector in the district.On concerns regarding displacement, the administration said no residents of the Bhimanagar area would be displaced. It added that 51.18 acres of land had been made available to 311 families residing on water resources department land without compensation, resolving a land ownership issue pending for four decades.Residents and farmers participating in Saturday’s protest at Ranjani village near Ujani dam on the Pune-Solapur highway, however, raised concerns about a proposed nuclear power project. The administration clarified that the proposed green hydrogen project had been dropped and that no nuclear power project is planned in the dam area.Addressing the gathering, Pawar said, “The farmers from Pune, Ahilyanagar, Solapur and Dharashiv districts participated in the agitation to express their concerns over adverse impacts of projects. Polluting projects are being imposed on Maharashtra, while projects like semiconductors that could generate a huge number of jobs are being diverted to Gujarat.”Pawar said the administration had assured protesters that the projects would not proceed without taking local residents into confidence through public hearings. He warned that the agitation would be intensified if authorities attempted to move ahead without proper consultation.
