Union Minister of Jal Shakti, C.R. Patil, has strongly denied allegations from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC)’s handling of water release from its reservoirs. The Chief Minister had accused the DVC of releasing water unilaterally, without proper communication to the state government, leading to fears of flooding.
In a public statement made via social media, Mr. Patil clarified the situation, stating that the DVC had only released 70,000 cusecs of water. This figure directly contradicts Ms. Banerjee’s assertion that the Central government had released a much larger volume of 1,50,000 cusecs.
Mr. Patil emphasized that the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC) secretariat provided factual information, confirming a combined release of 70,000 cusecs, comprising 42,500 cusecs from Maithon and 27,500 cusecs from Panchet reservoirs. He highlighted that this amount is significantly less than the 1,50,000 cusecs mentioned by the Chief Minister.
Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC)has been mandated to guide DVC in release of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs in a co-ordinated manner and it follows a very systematic and scientific approach for reservoir operation as per laid down procedure in… https://t.co/guN5v0V5Rb
— C R Paatil (@CRPaatil) October 3, 2025
Chief Minister Banerjee had expressed her outrage in a series of social media posts, labeling the DVC’s actions as a “deliberate ploy to unleash disaster” upon West Bengal, particularly during the festive season. She called the alleged unilateral release “shameful, intolerable, unacceptable,” and vowed to protest.
The Union Minister further elaborated that the DVRRC operates under a clear mandate to coordinate water releases from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs using a systematic and scientific approach, adhering to guidelines outlined in the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Manual. He stressed that the DVRRC secretariat had sought feedback from West Bengal’s Irrigation and Waterways Directorate before the release, but received no comments or input from them.
Additionally, Mr. Patil assured that, based on information from the DVRRC secretariat, there was no congestion in the Lower Damodar area of West Bengal, and the water level at Harinkhola in Hooghly district remained below the warning level, indicating a normal situation.
However, West Bengal’s Minister of Irrigation and Waterways, Manas Ranjan Bhuniya, countered Mr. Patil’s statements. Bhuniya asserted that the cumulative water release from the DVC since October 2 indeed exceeded 150,000 cusecs. He lamented that this was not the first instance of the Chief Minister raising concerns about water releases, yet the Centre had consistently ignored their pleas. Bhuniya also accused the Central government of various forms of deprivation, including withholding funds for river dredging and preventing Ganga river erosion, exacerbating the state’s water management challenges.