Riverbank erosion during high flood period in the valley is a regular annual feature.

Over bank flood due to breaches in the embankment render the fertile cultivable land unsuitable for
crop production due to deposition of coarse sand on the surface to a variable depth. As per Assam Government Revenue Dept. records, an area of 6116 hectares of land was affected by
soil erosion in Upper Brahmaputra Valley and North Bank Plain zone during 1994.

Table: Soil Erosion Statistics of Assam:

a) Total Cultivable area in Assam

34,60,082 ha

b) Area affected by Soil Erosion

1,93,000 ha

c) Area under Wasteland & Degraded Land

2,71,556 ha

d) Area affected by shifting cultivation

1,70,000 ha

e) Average area being eroded due to flood and soil erosion problems

6,500 ha

f) Average area affected by Flood annually

4,50,000 ha

g) Average annual rainfall in Assam

2,4000 mm

h) Total Annual Silt Load of Brahmaputra (1990)

At Bhurbandha

3,59,241 Cu.M

At Pandu

4,94,357 Cu.M

i) Annual Soil Erosion rate (1990)

Jia Bharali River

4,721 Tonnes per Sq.Km

Puthimari River

2,887 Tonnes per Sq.Km

(Source Directorate of Soil Conservation Ulubari, Guwahati-7)

The highly productive and fertile soils of Assam are now facing the serious problem of soil erosion like other parts of the country. Under heavy precipitation and humid climate loss of
topsoil through surface run-off is the most common type of soil erosion in the entire state. The problem of topsoil erosion is severe in the plain during the flood season. It is estimated
that nearly 3.2 million hectares of land of the plain districts of the state are vulnerable to topsoil erosion with varying intensity. Terrain deformation through mass movement is another
type of soil degradation, which is primarily confined to the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills covering an area of about 1.53 million hectares. Another important type of soil
erosion in the state, which assumed serious proportion in the recent time, is the bank erosion by the rivers. It is observed that at some places, a few kilometers of bank along the
villages, fertile agricultural lands and roads are being eroded by the rivers. Majuli, the largest river island of the world is now seriously affected by the erosion and virtually facing the
threat to existence. The extent of loss to the bank erosion varies from year to year depending on the severity of floods in the state.

Table: Estimated area affected by soil erosion in Assam by various land utilization classes

Sl. No.

Land utilization classes

Area in hectares

Cultivable land

7,70,000

Forest land

8,83,000

Pasture and grazing land

74,000

Non-agricultural land

1,82,000

Barren land

3,08,000

Source: Soil Conservation Directorate, Govt. of Assam

Table: Estimated area affected by soil erosion in Assam under special problems

Sl. No.

Land utilization classes

Area in hectares

Shifting cultivation

1,70,000

Surface flooding

4,50,000

Source: Soil Conservation Directorate, Govt. of Assam