Assam’s riverbeds are rising over the years due to heavy sediment accumulation from the hill states surrounding it, where most rivers of the state originate. While a portion of the sediment flow is due to intensified monsoon rainfall, the most important reason is rapid, uncontrolled and dangerous deforestation and earth-cutting in the upstream and catchment areas. Millions of cubic metres of earth are being cut in the adjoining hill states for various reasons, the most important of which is the need to construct roads and highways. Road construction in hill states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram involves massive earth-cutting, which in turn leads to severe environmental and safety issues. This heavy excavation destabilises fragile mountain slopes, triggers deadly landslides during heavy monsoon rains, and blocks local streams. When left to contractors, it is widely known that unscientific earth cutting removes the toe support of hills, leading to mudslides that ultimately wash down into the rivers during rainfall. While incidents of loss of human lives and property have been common in the hill states of the Northeast, loose debris and soil sliding down into valleys choke natural water channels and river flows, apart from rendering the bed of rivers shallow. The original master plan prepared by the Brahmaputra Board had focused on building storage dams, controlling floods, and stopping bank erosion, which in turn were expected to prevent a rise in the Brahmaputra riverbed and thus keep the high flood level under control. But rapid earth-cutting, both for government and private purposes, has clearly defeated the original objectives of that master plan. Thus, the rains bring down large volumes of earth every year, causing rivers to overflow. The recent deluge in the upper Assam districts is the direct fallout of the indiscriminate cutting and destruction of the hills in the catchments. It is true that earth-cutting is a must for constructing highways and various other infrastructure projects. But the environmental aspect, particularly in the valleys, cannot be brushed aside in the name of development.