The present estimated 20 per cent forest cover in Assam is under threat as, timber smuggling at the behest of the delinquent forest officials and guards continues unabated in the entire southern part of lower Assam defying National Forest Policy, which aims at having one-third of the country's area under forest cover, and the Supreme Court ban on felling trees in the North-east. The Government's dilly-dallying tactics in taking punitive actions against the unscrupulous officials has resulted in depletion of forest reserves in lower Assam, especially Kamrup and Goalpara