India, Nov. 2 -- There seems to be a protest for almost every major government proposal in Maharashtra these days. If it is not an AI data centre, it is a hydropower project. If it is not a port or a highway, it is a recruitment examination. The issues are different, the locations are scattered, and the participants are varied. But the frequency of agitations has made protest an increasingly familiar feature of the state's political and administrative life.

Consider the developments of the past few weeks. At Ujani, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, MP Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil and other opposition leaders led a road blockade against a proposed AI data centre and energy projects. In Karjat, the proposed felling of more than 32,000 trees for Torre...