The severe damage caused by flash floods in NEEPCO Colony in Yazali, Arunachal Pradesh, and the resulting flooding in nearby areas of Assam have once again highlighted the often ignored issue of floodplain zoning in discussions about flood management in the northeast region. Assam is forced to place all areas along the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries, which flow from neighbouring states, on high alert during the monsoon season following heavy rainfall in those hill states to protect lives. Yet, the non-demarcation and non-delineation of flood plains have remained a critical gap in flood management in the state. Flood damage risks have increased manifold with the rise in population and the increase in built-up areas in the floodplains, with people and local authorities being clueless about the extent of protected and regulatory zones due to a lack of clear demarcation and delineation. The 'Technical Guidelines on Floodplain Zoning' released by the Central Water Commission in July last year are a useful resource for states in identifying and demarcating floodplains based on the frequency of flood recurrence and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change. The construction of dams for hydropower generation in Arunachal Pradesh has significantly increased flood risks in downstream areas of Assam, as intense rainfall can lead to a sudden release of water, thereby amplifying the impact. This harsh reality is a stark reminder for Assam that delaying floodplain zoning indefinitely will only increase the vulnerability of people living along the rivers and, in turn, escalate the state's financial burden for emergency rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations. The CWC guidelines suggest two types of floodplain areas for rural regions: a protected zone or active zone, which is at high risk of flooding and where no building is allowed; and a regulatory zone, where activities are controlled based on how often floods happen, with chances ranging from 20% to 4% in a year. For urban areas, another category of floodplain is the warning zone, which is the outermost zone with a 4% to 1% chance of flooding, in which most activities can be permitted by mapping their vulnerability so that the risk of flooding hazards remains minimal. In a protected zone, the guidelines prohibit all kinds of construction activities, including the addition of floor area/elevation of any existing structure except civil and railway infrastructures (embankments/bridges specifically for railway infrastructure with adequate safety measures and flood/bank protection works, but the construction of new embankments remains a prohibited activity); any construction disturbing the natural course of the river channel except for essential services and infrastructure; and the dumping of solid waste/creation of landfills. The establishment of large-scale commercial or industrial facilities is excepted from sustainable activities such as groundwater withdrawal by hand pumps for non-commercial uses, traditional organic farming, traditional fisheries, grazing by animals, eco-friendly tourism; and permanent utilities such as parks, playgrounds, gardens, and discharge of domestic wastewater after treatment. For the regulated zone, the illustrative list of prohibition suggested by CWC includes residential settlement except public institutions, government offices, universities and educational institutions without residential facilities, public libraries, sewage treatment plants, community halls, etc. with a prescribed plinth level. It explains that there is a need to regulate activities in the river's floodplain to minimise damage from floods and protect the river's pristine nature. The CEC document emphasises the necessity of a nodal agency in the state to oversee floodplain zoning, ensuring that future development adheres to guidelines, and it includes pragmatic recommendations to periodically warn people living in the river's active floodplain to move to safer places in a phased manner; the expeditious implementation of these measures can significantly reduce risks to lives and properties in the floodplains. Ensuring compliance with these guidelines will require the state to strictly adhere to another crucial thing. Requiring a no-objection certificate from the local nodal agency for any activity in the floodplain, as suggested by CWC, will help prevent new encroachments and uncontrolled building. To enhance the safety of people living in downstream areas, the guidelines require developers of hydropower or pumped storage projects to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Floodplain Zone Nodal Agency when seeking environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which serves as a critical line of defence against the approval of hazardous projects and is particularly significant for states like Assam. It is time that Assam constituted the nodal agency and demarcated the protected, regulatory and warning zones along the floodplains of the state to give the rivers room to spread, meander and overflow safely and without inflicting avoidable harm to people living by the rivers. Integrating floodplain delineation and demarcation in the state's flood management framework has become an urgent necessity rather than a choice.