NEW DELHI: The Centre has rejected West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s allegation of “deep conspiracy” in flooding the state by centrally administered Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and asserted that the water release from two reservoirs in Jharkhand was carried out “scientifically” so that the risk of floods can be avoided in the downstream region.Responding to Banerjee’s post on X, in which she on Monday accused DVC for “sudden” and “unprecedentedly high” release of water during peak monsoon, Union Jal Shakti (water resources) minister CR Paatil a day later said the decision to release water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs is taken by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), chaired by the Central Water Commission, with representatives from DVC and the state govts of West Bengal and Jharkhand.Noting that the Damodar basin received 815 mm rainfall between May and July 2025, a significant surge compared to previous years, Paatil on X said, “This resulted in 16 times higher water inflows into the reservoirs during June-July 2025 than in 2024, and 43 times higher than in 2023.” “Despite this, DVRRC regulated water release scientifically, limiting peak discharges to 70,000 cusecs to reduce downstream flood risk,” he said.Banerjee, however, alleged a “staggering 11-fold increase in DVC’s water discharge in 2025, compared to 2024” and “30 times higher than 2023”, saying there is a “systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations across south Bengal”.Flagging that the outflow of water from DVC was 50,287 lakh cubic meters during June-July this year compared to 4,535 lakh cubic meters during the corresponding period last year, she said, “The huge increase in water releases this year to flood Bengal is deeply disturbing and shocking.”In her post on Monday, she said, “DVC has failed Bengal this year to an unprecedented degree. Clearly, the centrally administered agency is becoming more and more anti-Bengal, in keeping with the ecosystem that the central establishment is trying to generate all over India today.”Sharing the factual position, Paatil in his written response to a Parliament question earlier on the same day in Rajya Sabha said DVC had released 27,987 lakh cubic meters of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs from June 18 to July 15, 2025.The question was asked by TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee. Incidentally, the West Bengal CM posted her allegation on X after her party’s MP already got the written response from Paatil in the upper House on Monday.Paatil made it clear that DVRRC has been mandated to guide DVC in release of water from both the reservoirs in a “coordinated manner” with due regard to ensure effective flood control as well as to fulfill requirements of drinking, irrigation, navigation and industrial uses for optimal benefits of West Bengal, Jharkhand and DVC.“DVRRC follows a very systematic and scientific approach for reservoir operation as per laid down procedure in the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Manual approved for the management of DVC reservoirs, in consultation with DVC, govts of West Bengal and Jharkhand,” he said.
