West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unleashed a scathing attack on the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) on Monday, alleging that its water discharge into the state’s downstream rivers has skyrocketed 30 times in 2025 compared to the 2023 monsoon season. In a fiery X post, Banerjee branded the DVC’s actions as a “man-made catastrophe,” accusing the central agency of orchestrating a “deep conspiracy” to flood south Bengal and fuel an “anti-Bengal” agenda ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Banerjee claimed the DVC’s water release from its Maithon and Panchet dams surged from 4,535 lakh cubic meters in June-July 2024 to a staggering 50,287 lakh cubic meters in the same period of 2025—an 11-fold increase in a single year and 30 times higher than 2023. This “massive, sudden, unprecedentedly high release” during peak monsoon, she argued, has wreaked havoc across districts like Paschim Medinipur, Hooghly, and Howrah, destroying crops, breaching embankments, damaging roads, and displacing thousands.

“The DVC’s flood mismanagement record this year surpasses its own dismal accounts of previous years,” Banerjee stated, accusing the agency of prioritizing Jharkhand’s safety over Bengal’s welfare. She pointed to a “systematic attempt” to trigger flood-like situations, aligning her critique with the Trinamool Congress’s narrative of identity politics against the BJP-led central government.

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This marks Banerjee’s second public rebuke of the DVC in three weeks. On July 15, during a high-level meeting at Nabanna, she criticized the agency for releasing “critical volumes” of water without regard for Bengal’s consequences, a grievance she has raised for 14 years. Banerjee has repeatedly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, advocating for dredging DVC-managed rivers and canals, which she claims could hold an additional four lakh cubic meters of water to mitigate flooding.

The DVC, however, has previously denied allegations of unilateral water releases, asserting that decisions are made with the consent of the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee, which includes West Bengal’s Irrigation Secretary. In 2024, the agency claimed discharges were necessary to prevent dam failures, with West Bengal’s improved river capacity handling up to 1.5 lakh cusecs. Critics, including opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, have accused Banerjee of deflecting blame from her government’s failure to maintain embankments and fund flood management.

As south Bengal grapples with inundated farmlands and disrupted lives, Banerjee’s escalating rhetoric signals a deepening rift with the DVC and the Centre, setting the stage for a charged political battle.

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