Assam floods: Legal framework fails erosion victims, says Livelaw

Every monsoon, Assam faces catastrophic floods from the Brahmaputra, but the long-term damage comes from riverine erosion that permanently swallows land. Livelaw.in reports that the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and relief funds treat floods as sudden calamities, ignoring gradual erosion. Victims who lose land to the river are often reclassified as 'illegal encroachers' when they relocate to government land or forests, triggering evictions instead of compensation.

The article argues that the constitutional promise of social and economic justice is unmet. It points to the over-reliance on embankments, which trap sediment and raise the riverbed, making breaches more destructive. The legal void means no statutory compensation exists under land acquisition laws for land lost to nature. Livelaw notes that the judiciary has stepped in, citing Article 21, but a proactive policy framework is still missing.