Over 8.3 lakh hectares of land in Assam have suffered from desertification and land degradation, the central government told the Rajya Sabha. Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the information citing the 2021 Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, published by the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.
The atlas shows a steady rise in the affected area. Between 2003 and 2005, about 5.7 lakh hectares were degraded. This increased to over 7.1 lakh hectares between 2011 and 2013.
Singh said water erosion, waterlogging, and vegetation loss were the main causes.
He also said that Assam has lost 4.3 lakh hectares of land to erosion since 1954. That is around 7 percent of the state’s total area.
About 40 percent of Assam — close to 32 lakh hectares — is flood-prone.
Assam has lost over 4.2 lakh hectares of land to erosion since 1950, according to official estimates. The Water Resources Department puts the figure at 427,000 hectares—around 7.4 percent of the state’s total area.
Data from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) confirms that nearly 386,476 hectares have vanished since 1954.
The state loses around 8,000 hectares of land each year. This steady erosion forces thousands of families to leave their homes and farmland. The result is shrinking land, broken livelihoods, and growing economic distress in rural areas.
Assam has nine of India’s 22 most erosion-prone districts. These districts lie along the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. Over time, they have seen entire villages vanish, farms turn barren, and basic infrastructure collapse.
The most affected districts are Goalpara, Dhubri, Baksa, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Udalguri, Nalbari, and Barpeta.
Recent data shows the erosion threat continues in 2024. Assam lost 186.41 hectares of land across 24 districts between May and August. Nine districts faced severe erosion, with hundreds displaced.
| District | Land Lost (hectares) | People Displaced |
|---|---|---|
| Dhemaji | 41.64 | 387 |
| Dhubri | 33.22 | 638 |
| Baksa | 18.76 | 215 |
| Kokrajhar | 14.51 | 198 |
| Chirang | 12.83 | 174 |
| Bongaigaon | 16.47 | 312 |
| Udalguri | 11.92 | 127 |
| Nalbari | 14.06 | 196 |
| Barpeta | 23.00 | 289 |
To address this, the government has funded 142 flood management projects in Assam under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP). The central share of support totals over Rs. 1,557 crore.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti also provides aid to states for flood control, anti-erosion work, and river management. Assam has carried out tree plantation drives on 46,399 hectares under various schemes between 2015 and 2024 to help protect its ecosystems.
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