New Delhi: The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM)—accused of “flood jihad” by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma last year—has been recommended by a central committee to restore the land on which it stands to its original forest. But senior officials in the Assam government, as well as independent experts, are doubtful about tree-cutting in Meghalaya being the reason for floods in Guwahati.
On 15 September, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) submitted a report to the Supreme Court saying that the sprawling private university, set up by educationist Mahbubul Hoque in 2008, had violated the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) of 1980 by building on forest land without submitting proper forest clearances. It also directed USTM to pay Rs 150 crore as penalty. This includes penalties for tree cutting, the net present value of the forest land and the cost of restoration.
But a 2014 Assam State Disaster Management Authority review of various studies conducted on floods that have affected Guwahati, as well as a 2020 study by Bangalore University blamed unplanned construction, bad drainage systems and unplanned road levels.
According to a senior official in the Assam government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the connection between tree felling in USTM and flooding in Guwahati is dicey. “The USTM campus might be resting on forest land, but even if there is tree cutting, it is barely 15-20 hectares. That doesn’t entirely justify the floods in Guwahati. There are a lot of other factors like flyover construction and stormwater drainage in the city that could lead to floods.”
USTM founder and chancellor Mahbubul Hoque disagreed with the CEC report. “This whole thing is a misunderstanding, and all our land is approved legally. We’re a reputed university; our NIRF ranking is in the top 150-200 colleges in India,” said Hoque.
He added, “Even the Meghalaya forest department doesn’t think our land is forest land. There is a parcel for which we were asked to take forest clearance, and we started the process for it back in 2024.”
Hoque questioned the committee’s conclusions. “How can a fully-functioning university go back to forest cover in a year? If there are problems or issues with forest clearance, we are willing to clear the dues, but who even heard of Rs 150 crore being levied on a university?”
The next hearing in the Supreme Court is scheduled for 8 October, when USTM will present its argument.
‘Flood jihad’ & ‘cross-border consequences’
Located in the Jorabat Hills area on the Assam-Meghalaya border, the university has been at the centre of a political, legal and now environmental fight since Sarma accused it of “flood jihad” last year.
According to the chief minister, illegal tree felling and mountain cutting inside the USTM campus in Meghalaya’s Ri Bhoi district caused the floods in Guwahati last year.
“I feel that the USTM owner has started a flood jihad. No nature-loving people cut forests and hills ruthlessly in this way,” Sarma said in a press conference. “If there is no rain in Guwahati, then USTM is responsible for flooding in Guwahati.”
In a series of X posts in 2024, Sarma had shared satellite images of the USTM campus in Meghalaya and the alleged deforestation there. The Jorabat Hills area, where the campus is located, is being systematically flattened and rainwater then courses down directly into Guwahati and floods it, he claimed.
In May this year, Sarma said that illegal deforestation and construction on the USTM campus would lead to Guwahati “becoming an ocean”.
Soon after, Assam BJP member Jitul Deka filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging illegal deforestation, mining and quarrying in Meghalaya were impacting the ecology and local communities, and also had “cross-border consequences” in Guwahati.
“The unchecked deforestation and mining in Meghalaya have severe spillover effects on Assam. Quarry dust and runoff block natural drainage channels, causing severe flooding and waterlogging in Guwahati,” said the petition.
In response to the petition, the CEC—which advises the Supreme Court on cases relating to environmental protection—came out with its report on illegal mining and hill cutting in the Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
According to the report, the unchecked deforestation has led to increased rainwater runoff, which “worsened artificial flooding” in downstream areas.
“It can be seen that almost 93 percent of the area belonging to USTM is forest land, and out of the total forest land, 83 percent is broken or in use,” said the report. “The breaking of land has been done devastatingly, and the surroundings have been heavily disturbed.
However, the Meghalaya Forest Department told the CEC it was “not possible” to determine whether the land the USTM campus stood on was forest land. This was because the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change had asked to conduct a “superimposition exercise” only in 2017, years after the campus was built on land approved by it.
However, a forest-type map prepared by the North East Space Application Centre (NESAC) that was superimposed on a campus map, found that USTM sits on forest land. But the Meghalaya forest department clarified that they were not involved in preparing the map with NESAC.
The USTM is a private university that started in 2008 and offers a variety of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees in STEM subjects. It has more than 6000 students and is promoted by the Education Research and Development Foundation (EDRF).
The university has told the CEC that it did not violate any forest laws and acquired the land for its campus legally.
“Even the Meghalaya government’s reply to CEC says that we are not standing on forest land,” said Hoque. “Both USTM and Meghalaya forest department’s responses show that our work has always been above board.”
Hoque called the entire case politically motivated by Sarma. “CM Sarma has himself visited our university, even inaugurated some blocks. The CEC team, when they visited, we cooperated with them, but the report completely surprised us.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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