West Bengal CM wants Indo-Bhutan River Commission with Bengal as its member

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) reiterated her demand of setting up an Indo-Bhutan River Commission and said that West Bengal should be made a member of the Commission.

“We have repeatedly demanded that Bengal must be made a member of an Indo-Bhutan River Commission. It is necessary because the waters of Bhutan’s Sankosh river flood Jalpaiguri Alipurduar also goes underwater,” the Chief Minister said speaking to journalists in north Bengal.

Ms. Banerjee who is on a three-day visit to north Bengal has earlier held a meeting with the District Magistrates on the water surge in rivers of the region. In the past also the Chief Minister has sought setting up of the Indo-Bhutan River Commission.

In response to a question raised by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee on August 11, 2025, the Ministry of Jal Shakti had informed the Parliament that there is no such proposal under consideration to form an Indo-Bhutan River Commission.

The Ministry in its response pointed out that the primary concern for India on trans-border rivers flowing from Bhutan and entering the States of Assam and West Bengal are recurring floods and erosion in the border areas and the adjoining plains in India.

“Accordingly, both the countries have entered into bilateral cooperation on flood related issues, which consist of a Joint Group of Experts (JGE) & a Joint Technical Team (JTT) on flood management and a Joint Experts Team (JET) on flood forecasting. These expert groups meet at regular intervals to discuss issues related to trans-border rivers,” the response added.

Speaking about the pending dangers of floods in West Bengal, said that in the north while the rivers of Bhutan, Nepal and Teesta from Sikkim pose risk in south Bengal it is the release of waters from the reservoirs from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) that causes floods. The Chief Minister has on several occasions called the floods in south Bengal ‘man-made’ blaming the DVC for the inundations.

“The terrain of West Bengal is like that of a boat. The Ganga in Bengal is still full because of the waters from UP and Bihar. The Centre must therefore think about how much water Bengal can actually absorb,” she said.

The Chief Minister claimed that in the Union Budget not a single paisa has been given to West Bengal for flood control., whereas Assam has been allocated funds. “But they must understand that whenever a disaster comes, it does not remain confined to one region, it affects all…Even the one office of the River Commission that was in Kolkata has been shifted to Patna. But it is Bengal that is facing the maximum brunt of the situation,” Ms. Banerjee said.