Assam’s escalating riverbank erosion highlighted in Tuesday’s edition of this newspaper lays bare a crisis that still fails to draw attention it deserves in the state’s disaster management priorities. In a state grappling with mounting population pressure, the failure to check erosion will only deepen its land crisis and compound the developmental challenges. The news report titled ‘Apart from floods, erosion is now a major challenge for the state government’ serves as a clear call for the Assam State Disaster Management Authority and the Water Resources Department to urgently enhance their anti-erosion measures. That around 200 erosion-prone areas have been identified across the state, but anti-erosion measures have been taken up only in limited areas, as the news report points out, is a matter of grave concern and reflects a worrying gap in disaster response and preparedness. Unlike floods, which require preparedness and early warning to mitigate their impact when they occur, worsening riverbank erosion is not a future threat; it is a slow-moving, permanent disaster that is already unfolding, eroding land, public properties, and livelihoods. The central government told the Lok Sabha on July 30 that a study of the Brahmaputra River by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, found that the river lost about 252.6 sq. km to erosion and gained about 118.6 sq. km from deposition between 2003-2005 and 2008-2011. The figures clearly indicate the looming crisis resulting from the river’s unchecked erosion. km from deposition between 2003-2005 and 2008-2011. The figures clearly indicate the looming crisis resulting from the river’s unchecked erosion. The news report, however, highlighted that erosion is not only associated with the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers but also with all major tributaries of these two rivers. The true extent of Assam’s growing erosion problem can only be fully understood if every place affected by erosion in the state is mapped and recorded in a central database, allowing for timely action and effective anti-erosion measures. The central government believes that each state should create and carry out its own flood management and anti-erosion plans based on what they see as important, while the Union Government helps by offering technical advice and financial support for flood management in key areas. Ambiguity regarding the use of the disaster response fund for rehabilitating the state’s erosion-affected people has severely impacted the disaster resilience of those affected by ongoing erosion, as erosion was excluded from the list of notified natural calamities eligible for funding from the National Disaster Response Fund. It was the 15th Finance Commission, which first recognised both coastal and riverbank erosion can have serious consequences, and pushed for funding support for anti-erosion works under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) and funding support for resettlement of erosion-displaced people under National Disaster Response Fund. With the removal of funding barriers, states dealing with riverbank and coastal erosion now need to carry out detailed anti-erosion projects and find money to help families who have been forced to move because of erosion. Timely release of funds and time-bound execution of anti-erosion projects is crucial to ensure that data used to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) do not become obsolete due to rapidly changing sediment deposits and faster rates of erosion progression and render the anti-erosion project based on old data ineffective. Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement that the state government would engage experts from IIT Guwahati to find a permanent and sustainable solution to the erosion problem has signalled a decisive move by the chief minister to include erosion on the list of top priorities for disaster management. It is essential for the concerned departments to build their capacities to meticulously plan and meet project deadlines, ensuring that the government’s policy move is supported by a strong institutional capacity for project execution. The complexities of the Brahmaputra River network demand continuous updating of the database on river flow regimes and sedimentation loads, erosion patterns, etc., which requires massive funding for research and technology adoption. The deepening impact of climate change on floods and erosion, caused by drastic changes in rainfall patterns, serves as a warning that the lack of proper scientific studies on the dynamic river systems in the state may create obstacles to achieving sustainable solutions for the twin issues of flooding and erosion. The administrative departments play a vital role in streamlining disaster management planning and measures to strengthen flood and erosion resilience, while the scientific community engages in finding lasting solutions to improve disaster-mitigation projects. As erosion leads to the permanent loss of land, and the scarcity of land adds to the severity of the rehabilitation crisis for erosion-displaced people, a pragmatic approach to the problem demands prioritising anti-erosion measures. Assam urgently needs a proactive erosion-prevention strategy that moves beyond piecemeal seasonal interventions.