Scientists at Guwahati have quite often reiterated that the most effective strategy for mitigation of the extensive flood damage lies in the planned development of flood plains and innumerable number of wetlands in the State by introducing regulations to restrict haphazard growth of habitation and development in those areas . A recently -concluded survey undertaken by the Assam Remote Sensing Application Centre (ARSAC) with assistance from the Space Application Centre (SRO) , Ahmedabad, as part of the project on nationwide wetland mappings, funded by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, noted that apart from the natural degradation of wetlands, continuous and everincreasing human interference due to rampant encroachment of those areas and large-scale deforestation is not only posing a serious threat to the existence of the rich biodiversity , sustained by the wetlands, but also adding to the annual onslaught of floods.