The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to provide a report on its flood compensation and rehabilitation measures for affected residents. This request comes amid ongoing tensions between the Union and state governments regarding water releases from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Bivas Pattanayak, instructed the state to submit the report by October 3. This order was issued in response to a public interest litigation concerning the flood situation in the state, particularly focusing on the worst-affected districts: West Midnapore, Hooghly, and Howrah.
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As the court proceedings continue, new weather developments have further complicated the situation. Following the formation of a low-pressure area in the central-western Bay of Bengal, heavy rainfall began affecting northern districts, including Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar, since Wednesday night. This has led to landslides in hilly regions and medium to heavy rainfall in parts of south Bengal.
State officials noted that the new low-pressure system has created additional challenges for flood management, even as the overall flood conditions were showing signs of improvement. On Wednesday, the government issued red alerts in three districts, orange alerts in five, and yellow alerts in ten others.
In a related development, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Sunday the withdrawal of state representation from the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), citing the DVC’s failure to notify the state about water releases that contributed to the flooding.
The BJP has criticized this move, labeling it a distraction from the public outcry surrounding the recent rape and murder of a junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.
