KOLKATA: A devastating indictment of the Mamata Banerjee–led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has emerged from a nearly 700-page Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report submitted to the Calcutta High Court, exposing what could be a Rs 100-crore scam in flood relief funds meant for victims of the August 2017 Malda floods. The findings point not to administrative lapses, but to a systematic, organised looting of disaster relief, where the poor were robbed while politically connected individuals enriched themselves.
According to the CAG, flood relief meant for thousands of devastated families was diverted, duplicated, and distributed illegally across Malda’s 13 blocks. Shockingly, 1,609 pucca houses were shown as damaged, and Rs 7.5 crore was paid as compensation despite the District Magistrate officially confirming that not a single pucca house was damaged in the flood.
A shocking 700-page CAG report submitted to the Calcutta High Court has exposed what could be a massive ₹100-crore scam in Malda’s flood relief funds under Mamata Banerjee’s TMC regime, a ruthless, systematic loot while genuine victims languish in misery.
The CAG findings lay… pic.twitter.com/1cAHupTJE6
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 2, 2026
While victims of genuine damage waited for years many still uncompensated even nine years later the report uncovers a brazen scam where money flowed freely to those who were never affected, never applied, or were not even eligible.
One of the most explosive revelations is the discovery of 6,965 cases of repeated payments made to the same individuals, with amounts credited two to as many as 42 times into the same bank account with identical name, account number, and IFSC code.
In Harishchandrapur-2 block, a single individual alone received flood compensation 42 times for damage to the same house. In total, the CAG estimates that Rs 5.90 crore was siphoned off purely through such duplicate and multiple payments without any physical verification of damage.
The report further states that over Rs 7 crore was distributed to people whose names were not even on the official list of flood victims. In many cases, no applications were submitted at all. Yet money was sanctioned and released.
In Ratua-1 block alone, Rs 2.60 crore was paid to such non-listed individuals. Across Malda, Rs 7.29 crore was disbursed without confirming whether houses were damaged or whether beneficiaries were eligible in the first place.
Perhaps most damning is the exposure of 108 public representatives and government employees including 36 Panchayat Samiti members and 72 Gram Panchayat members who illegally pocketed BPL (Below Poverty Line) relief funds, despite drawing regular government salaries and clearly failing income eligibility criteria.
The CAG noted that:
- 36 Panchayat Samiti members claimed compensation worth Rs 26 lakh
- 72 Gram Panchayat members across Harishchandrapur-2, Ratua-1 & 2, and Chanchal-2 blocks withdrew relief money
- Four government workers in Harishchandrapur-2 fraudulently took Rs 5.28 lakh
None of them qualified as flood-affected BPL beneficiaries.
As per norms, a four-member verification committee including Panchayat Samiti members, BDO representatives, Panchayat representatives, and the opposition leader was mandatory before sanctioning relief. The CAG found that this process was ignored in most cases.
In blocks like Manikchak, Old Malda, English Bazaar, Kaliachak-1, and Ratua-1, relief was distributed without recommendations from BDO representatives or opposition members.
Worse, when auditors demanded records in Old Malda block, officials claimed that key documents were “lost”. No police complaint was ever filed regarding these missing files raising serious suspicions of deliberate destruction of evidence.
The report and accompanying court petitions allege that large-scale withdrawals occurred during the Panchayat election period, suggesting that flood relief money may have been used as political currency to influence local power structures.
The 700-page CAG report submitted to the Calcutta High Court has blown the lid off what could be a massive ₹100-crore scam in Malda’s flood relief funds under the TMC regime. These findings suggest a ruthless, systematic loot of public money-a state-sponsored heist where genuine… pic.twitter.com/tGONrxy93D
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) January 2, 2026
Three separate Public Interest Litigations (PILs) before the Calcutta High Court allege that nearly Rs 100 crore was looted. Lawyers representing the petitioners have stated that while the CAG stopped short of naming officers, at least 30 BDOs who served between 2017 and 2020 have been named in court proceedings.
This scandal is not an aberration. From Amphan cyclone relief irregularities to COVID-related corruption, the TMC government has repeatedly been accused of turning crises into cash cows. The Malda flood scam fits a disturbing pattern: disasters exploited, systems compromised, and the poorest betrayed.
While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaks of “Banchana” (deprivation), the CAG report suggests that deprivation was engineered by her own state machinery. Reacting sharply, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said this is a case of “state-sponsored dacoity”, accusing the Mamata government of running an organised plunder network under the guise of welfare.
