In the letter, dated September 21, Banerjee expressed her disagreement with the central government’s handling of the situation.She claimed that the release of water from the DVC reservoirs was done unilaterally, without sufficient input from her government. According to Banerjee, decisions related to water management were made by the Central Water Commission and the ministry of Jal Shakti without a consensus being reached with West Bengal authorities.
Banerjee further alleged that water releases sometimes occur without advance notice to the state, hampering disaster preparedness. She highlighted that a peak water release, lasting for nine hours, was initiated with only 3.5 hours of notice, which she said was inadequate for effective disaster management.
She took to Twitter and said, “This is my second letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India regarding the devastating MAN-MADE flood in South Bengal caused by unprecedented release of water by DVC.”
In an earlier letter to the Prime Minister on September 20, Banerjee stated that the floods had affected five million people and urged the central government to release emergency funds to aid in recovery efforts.
Responding to Banerjee’s concerns, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil defended the DVC’s actions. In his letter, Paatil stated that West Bengal officials had been informed at every stage of the water release process. He emphasised that the decision to release water was necessary to prevent a larger disaster. Paatil clarified that the releases were managed by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which includes representatives from the Central Water Commission, the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand, and the DVC.
Paatil also noted that from September 14 to 17, the release of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs was reduced by 50% at the request of West Bengal officials due to heavy rainfall in the region.
Banerjee, however, maintained that her government’s views were often disregarded and urged for a more collaborative approach in handling such critical decisions. She reiterated her call for urgent central funds to address the widespread damage caused by the floods.