The central government has refuted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accusations of a "deep conspiracy" to flood the state, asserting that water releases from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) were conducted scientifically. Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil responded to Banerjee's allegations, stating that the water release from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs in Jharkhand was carefully regulated to minimize flood risks in downstream areas.

Banerjee had earlier alleged that the DVC was responsible for "sudden" and "unprecedentedly high" water releases during peak monsoon season, leading to a "man-made catastrophe" in West Bengal. She claimed a "staggering 11-fold increase" in DVC's water discharge compared to 2024, and "30 times higher" than in 2023, suggesting a "systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations across south Bengal". She highlighted the significant increase in water outflow, from 4,535 lakh cubic meters in June-July 2024 to 50,287 lakh cubic meters during the same period in 2025, which she said had devastated districts, damaged roads, breached embankments and forced mass evacuations.

In response, Paatil clarified that the decision to release water is made by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which is chaired by the Central Water Commission and includes representatives from the DVC and the state governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand. He pointed out that the Damodar basin had received 815 mm of rainfall between May and July 2025, which is significantly higher compared to previous years. This resulted in water inflows into the reservoirs being 16 times higher than in 2024 and 43 times higher than in 2023. Despite this pressure, the DVRRC regulated water release scientifically, limiting peak discharges to 70,000 cusecs to reduce downstream flood risk.

Banerjee has also accused the Centre of being "anti-Bengal" and of "engineering a crisis" through the DVC. She claimed that the centrally administered agency had failed Bengal to an unprecedented degree and alleged that the state does not receive flood relief funds from the central government, while Assam receives aid in times of need. She also stated that excess water release from the DVC has led to flooding in many districts in the lower Damodar region. However, DVC sources told The Hindu that they release water only after discussions with the committee which includes West Bengal government, Jharkhand government and the DVC authorities along with the Central Water Commission.

The Chief Minister said that even after repeated warnings, the multiple dams of DVC have released heavy loads of water from Jharkhand and flooded West Bengal. She added that as Bengal is a land of water bodies filled with rivers, lakes, and ponds it suffers more during monsoons. She claimed that five lakh ponds have been dug up in the State in recent years to absorb some of the rainwater and reduce the burden on people.