Among many promises made by political parties to voters in every election in Assam, promises to address the recurring problems of flood and erosion have become routine, but lasting solutions to the twin problems continue to be elusive. This year's flood season will begin almost immediately after the counting is over and the results are declared on May 4. The poll promises made by the two major political parties - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress -have put the spotlight on the twin problems. The BJP has promised to launch the Badh Mukt Assam Mission with an investment of Rs 18,000 crore to make Assam flood-free. The Congress has promised an overall reduction in flood and erosion protection programmes in vulnerable rural areas. While embankment strengthening and improved rescue and rehabilitation are essential for seasonal flood management, lasting solutions to the twin problems demand basin-level interventions across both the Brahmaputra and Barak basins. Flood embankments in the state have outlived their life span and are prone to breaches. Without a quantum jump in budgetary allocation for flood management, the mitigation measures will continue to be a band-aid solution of plugging the breaches caused by last year's flood and strengthening vulnerable stretches due to a dearth of required funds ahead of the monsoon season. Embankments are critical to protect human lives and standing crops. When breaches occur, floodwater gushes into human settlements near the embankment, submerges villages, destroys standing crops protected by it, and damages houses and public properties. As the population has grown in areas protected by embankments over the years, the cost of rehabilitation has also gone up proportionately. Strengthening the emergency response system for post-flood rescue and relief is necessarily a continuous and evolving process. Reducing the intensity of floods through flood cushioning in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers and their tributaries remains a critical pillar of the state's flood management framework. As the catchments of the two rivers and their major tributaries are spread across neighbouring states, active cooperation by the neighbouring states is pivotal to reducing flood intensity through structural interventions. This calls for expediting the establishment of the proposed North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA). Political parties of the state setting aside their differences and unitedly impressing upon the central government to expedite the formation of NEWMA will require consensus on the floor of the new assembly to be elected. The central government proposes the constitution of NEWMA for the management of the Brahmaputra and Barak River Basins as a single system and in an ecologically sustainable manner as a common pool community resource held by the basin states, under the public trust doctrine, to achieve food security and livelihood support and ensure equitable and sustainable development. Under the proposed mechanism, the basin states shall, in their respective territories, develop, manage and regulate the waters of an interstate river basin in an equitable and sustainable manner, which is a pragmatic approach. Delivering on the promises made in poll manifestos will require building consensus not just on the floor of the Assam Assembly on pushing NEWMA to replace the ineffective Brahmaputra Board but also initiating the process of consultation with the neighbouring states for removing the differences over its constitution. Significant advancement in the resolution of decades-long interstate boundary disputes between Assam and its neighbouring states - Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram - through the process of government-level consultations presents an encouraging example for removing the bottlenecks in establishing NEWMA. Another important initiative taken by the central government for addressing the flood problems in the state is the restoration and rejuvenation of wetlands to enhance their water retention and to mitigate the risks of flooding and erosion so that their water-holding capacity increases. Rejuvenation of the wetlands brings the double benefit of augmenting the income of fishermen as a result of improvement in ecological functioning. Apart from recurring annual floods, devastating erosion caused by the Brahmaputra has become a grave problem, as it has displaced thousands of families and resulted in permanent loss of livelihood due to erosion of vast stretches of farmland. For the new government, expeditious implementation of the central government-funded projects for resettlement of erosion-hit people is expected to be in the list of priorities. The approval by the Asian Development Bank for additional financing to the tune of 182 million US dollars to supplement its financing for the Climate Resilient Brahmaputra Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management project has triggered fresh hopes for reducing vulnerabilities of people living in flood-prone areas. Mitigating riverbank erosion through anti-erosion structural measures and the construction of flood-resilient embankments receiving focused attention from the new government to be installed is critical for long-term flood management in Assam. Realising such long-term goals hinges on preventing the twin issues of flood and erosion from turning into an elephant in the room once the seasonal floods recede.