Lok Sabha Question No. 1564 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Climate Adaptation and Support for Climate-Vulnerable Districts in Assam
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Gaurav Gogoi, Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1564

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Climate Adaptation and Support for Climate-Vulnerable Districts in Assam

1564. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI: MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether climate-vulnerable districts in Assam affected by recurrent flooding and riverbank erosion  of  the  Brahmaputra and its  tributaries  have  been  identified and if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (b) the climate adaptation and risk-reduction measures being implemented in such districts;
- (c) the support provided to households displaced or affected by flooding and erosion in Assam, including relocation, rehabilitation, housing and livelihood assistance;
- (d) the mechanisms for coordination between the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the State  Government of Assam in planning and implementing measures to address climateinduced displacement;
- (e) whether the Central Government has constituted any committee or expert body to study flood and river erosion management in Assam; and
- (f) the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Central Government for permanent mitigation of floods and river erosion in the State?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (f)  The occurrence of floods can be attributed to various factors, including wide variations in rainfall both in time and space with frequent departures from the normal pattern, inadequate carrying capacities of rivers, river bank erosion and silting of river beds, landslides, poor natural drainage in flood prone areas, snowmelt and glacial lake out-bursts. Soil erosion caused by heavy floods is a matter of concern as it leads to several associated problems like changes in river course, causing loss of land, etc.

Morphological Studies by various Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Information Technology  (NIIT)  have been carried out for major rivers including river Brahmaputra.  These  Studies  play  an  important  role  in  understanding  the  nature  of  rivers  in  a comprehensive  manner  and  provide  assessment  of  decadal  bank-line  movement,  erosion  & deposition  in  different  reaches  in  respect  of  base  year.  These  studies  have  been  shared  with concerned State Governments and other stakeholders etc. for taking informed decision and future planning.  As  per  the  morphological  study  of  Brahmaputra  River  conducted  by  Central  Water Commission (CWC) through IIT Guwahati, it has been estimated that in the Brahmaputra River, a total erosion of 252.6 sq.km and deposition of 118.6 sq.km occurred between 2003-05 and 200811.

As per report of CWC on 'Assessment of Area Affected Due to Floods in India, 2024' based on satellite imageries data from 1986 to 2022, the total flood affected areas in Assam is assessed as 2.477 Mha covering 33 of 35 districts.

Flood  management  and  anti-erosion  schemes  are  planned  and  implemented  by  the  State Government, while the Central Government supplements the efforts through technical guidance and financial assistance under various programmes. Government of India has adopted integrated flood approach that aims at adopting judicious mix of structural and non-structural measures to provide a reasonable degree of protection against flood damages at economic cost. Central assistance has been provided to Assam under the Flood Management Programme (FMP) and its continuation as the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP). A total of 111 FMP  and  FMBAP  in  Assam  have  been  completed  and one project is ongoing.

The State Government also undertakes assessment of damages caused due to 12 notified natural calamities  including  floods  and  provide  relief  assistance  from  State  Disaster  Response  Fund (SDRF) already placed at their disposal as per Government of India's approved norms. Additional financial assistance is provided from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure in case of disaster of 'severe nature' which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

In  addition,  non-structural  measures  such  as  flood  forecasting  and  early  warning  services  are provided by the CWC. In order to enable States to undertake scientific assessment of flood plains and its zoning as a non-structural measure of flood mitigation, Ministry of Jal Shakti in August 2025 has prepared Guideline on Flood Plain Zoning and circulated to States/UTs.

Displacement of affected people may be due to economic, social, political and other factors. There is  no established study for India providing a quantified attribution of climate change triggering displacement  of  people.  While  many  studies  monitor  extreme  events  in  the  environment,  the science of attribution of these changes particularly to climate change is far more complex and currently an evolving subject. The Government of India constituted Brahmaputra Board in 1980 by an Act of Parliament Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980 (No. 46 of 1980) with the objective of planning and integrated implementation of measures for control  of floods and bank erosion in Brahmaputra Valley and matters connected therewith.

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