Hill leaders have slammed the Bengal government for failing to declare the recent landslides and floods in the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars as a “disaster".

Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista also sharply questioned the use of funds for relief and rehabilitation.

Leaders of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha, cutting across political lines, had demanded that the tragedy be declared a “disaster”. Anit Thapa, an ally of Mamata in Darjeeling heads the GTA.

The disaster announcement demand was also made by CPM, BJP and the Ajoy Edwards-led Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front.

During her visit to Darjeeling, Mamata blamed the Centre for indulging in politics over floods. "We are the ones, who build houses, construct bridges, clear landslides, run kitchens. The Centre has no role. Nothing is there, only politics,” Mamata had said in Mirik on Tuesday, alleging that BJP leaders visited only for photo-shoots.

Bista sharply countered Mamata’s remarks, accusing the Bengal government of refusing to officially declare the recent landslides and floods a “disaster.”

Bista said that the state administration’s inaction was “illogical” and had prevented the flow of central relief funds.

"Despite the scale of calamity, the state has refused to notify it as a ‘disaster’. Only after the state government officially notifies a disaster under Section 38 of the Disaster Management Act 2005 can the Centre provide further assistance,” Bista said.

The Darjeeling MP alleged that there was “no account” of the ₹5,900 crore disaster relief funds allocated to Bengal by the 15th Finance Commission from 2021–26, of which 75 per cent comes from the Centre and 25 per cent from the state.

For the current fiscal 2025-26, Bista said, the state has ₹1,311 crore in its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) with ₹983 crore contribution from the Centre and ₹328 crore from the state.

"Even if 10 per cent of the SDRF for 2025-26 were used, about ₹130 crore could be mobilised immediately to support victims and rebuild infrastructure. Instead, the state is spending barely ₹10 crore after announcing ₹5 lakh for each death and ₹1.2 lakh for damaged houses,” Bista said.

Calling the state government’s stance “malicious,” Bista said: “By refusing to officially notify the tragedy a ‘disaster, the state government is trying to prevent allocation of funds and additional resources.... This is nothing short of malicious.”

The MP further claimed that the disaster management and civil defence department of the state, which received an allocation of ₹3,279 crore for 2025-26, had failed to ensure preparedness or mitigation in the hills and north Bengal.

"If even 10 per cent of that budget had been used in our region for disaster mitigation and response, ₹327 crore could have gone into immediate relief. It seems the funds have disappeared,” he said.