Mamata blames Centre for no help for Ghatal master plan
The Statesman | 25 June 2025
With the water level rising in the rivers in north Bengal, the chief minister once again vented her anger on the DVC for the flood-like situation in the state, and described it “man-made”.
Miss Banerjee was speaking at her chamber in the Assembly today.
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The chief minister took potshots at the Damodar Valley Corporation in causing a flood-like situation by arbitrarily releasing water, keeping the state in the dark.
“The DVC is doing what it likes, releasing water from the dams without intimating us. This led the state government to shell out Rs 2,500 cr from its exchequer.
She further said: “The DVC never does dredging of the dams, as a result of which, the storage facility gets inundated every monsoon.”
On the issue of Ghatal Master Plan, which is hanging fire for a long time, the chief minister blamed the Centre for the delay and said that the Centre has not given any financial assistance in this regard. She said that the state government had to take the initiative in initiating the plan into action.
She further said that the state government had already set in motion the Ghatal Master Plan to eradicate the problem of perennial floods in Midnapore.
“We have already initiated the Ghatal Master Plan and would take two to three years to complete it. We would fulfil the dreams of Ghatal residents by completing it at any cost in order to get rid of perennial spectre of floods,” the chief minister said.
The Trinamul Congress released a couple of questions raised by the Ghatal MP Deepak Adhikari aka Dev in the Parliament.
In the first instance the MP had asked the Jal Shakti ministry if the government released any funds for the Ghatal Master Plan during the last five years.
The minister of state for jal shakti, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, replied: “(a) A flood management project of West Bengal namely, Phase-I works of Ghatal Master Plan in Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur districts of West Bengal was considered by Advisory Committee of Department of Water Resource, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation under Ministry of Jal Shakti in its 136th meeting held on 6th June, 2018 and accepted for its techno-economic viability at an estimated cost of Rs. 1238.95 crore (price level 2017). Subsequently, based on recommendations of Investment Clearance Committee of DoWR, RD & GR in its 17th meeting held on 10.06.2022, the project has been accorded investment clearance.
“(b) to (d) Flood management, including erosion control, falls within the purview of the States. Flood management and anti-erosion schemes are formulated and implemented by concerned State Governments as per their priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and also promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas.”
In the second instance, the concerned minister Bishweswar Tudu replied in the Parliament:
“(a) to (c) A flood management project of West Bengal namely, Phase-I works of Ghatal Master Plan in Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur districts of West Bengal was considered by Advisory Committee of Department of Water Resource, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation under Ministry of Jal Shakti in meeting held on 6 6th June, 2018 and accepted for its techno-economic viability at an estimated cost of Rs. 1238.95 Crore (price level 2017). Subsequently, based on recommendations of Investment Clearance Committee of DoWR, RD & GR in its 17 17th meeting held on 10.06.2022, the project has been accorded investment clearance. No funds have been provided by the Central Government as the project has not been included for funding under any scheme of Ministry of Jal Shakti.”