On August 5, 2024, the city of Guwahati, capital of Assam, was struck by sudden and destructive flash floods. The downpour that day was heavy, but the scale of damage was not just because of rainfall. Water rushed down from the surrounding hilly areas and inundated low-lying localities like Jorabat and Maligaon. Roads were submerged, traffic came to a halt, and residents saw their homes and businesses severely damaged.

In the immediate aftermath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directly named the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) as a key culprit. He accused the institution of ‘flood Jihad’ against Guwahati. His strong statement led to widespread outrage and debates across political and social circles.

USTM’s chancellor, Mahbubul Hoque, dismissed the allegations. He maintained that the university was legally established with all approvals from the Meghalaya government. He further argued that the blame should lie with Guwahati’s own drainage system, which he described as outdated and incapable of handling sudden rainfall.

However, a year later, the picture looks very different. A probe by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has exposed a series of serious flaws and deliberate irregularities in how the USTM campus was planned and constructed. The committee found blatant land encroachment and widespread environmental destruction, both of which played a direct role in worsening the flash floods that devastated Guwahati’s low-lying areas.

The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), established in 2008 by the Education Research and Development Foundation, is a private institution located in the 9th Mile area of Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya. From its inception, the university has been at the heart of a transboundary environmental dispute, with Assam repeatedly voicing concerns about unchecked forest destruction and hill cutting carried out by USTM authorities.

USTM’s location is crucial here. It is situated right across the Assam-Meghalaya border, near Jorabat, a key entry point into Guwahati. A resident of Assam filed a case in the Supreme Court, flagging the environmental degradation caused in Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya and highlighting its impact on downstream Assam. In May 2025, the Assam government under Sarma formally requested the Supreme Court’s CEC to monitor and probe the environmental damage linked to USTM.

Findings of the CEC probe into USTM

The CEC report revealed that the USTM campus spans over 100 acres of hilly terrain. The expansion was massive, including academic buildings, the PA Sangma Memorial Medical College, and other large infrastructure such as an auditorium.

Since 2011, according to the findings, the university authorities had flattened at least five hills to make level ground for construction. Importantly, these were not cut inward towards Meghalaya but were slopes facing Guwahati. This made the city more vulnerable, as the natural hill barriers that once slowed rainwater runoff were removed.

By creating steep and unstable gradients, the excavations allowed monsoon water to channel directly downslope into the Umkhrah and Basistha rivers, which flow into Guwahati. Earlier, the heavily forested hills had provided protection to low-lying areas by absorbing rainwater. Once destroyed, Guwahati became prone to fast and destructive flooding.

The probe further noted that rampant deforestation and excavation loosened the soil, causing massive erosion. This, in turn, led to heavy silting of rivers and frequent landslides. The land where these activities took place was under a “deemed forest” category as per the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which meant natural runoff regulation was critical.

Interestingly, the committee pointed out that not only CM Sarma, but also former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi had earlier raised alarms about Jorabat being a chronic flood source. He too had repeatedly flagged the problem of cross-border deforestation.

USTM’s unchecked expansion and ecological destruction

The CEC probe went into detail about how USTM’s construction violated environmental norms. It found that the university had encroached on 25 hectares of deemed forest land without any clearance under the Forest Conservation Act. Out of 15.71 hectares constructed, 13.62 hectares (87%) turned out to be forest land.

For the PA Sangma Memorial Medical College, out of 12.13 hectares earmarked, about 7.64 hectares (63%) had been broken up. The remaining land, still marked as forest in 2021, was also encroached upon by USTM in clear violation of the 1973 Meghalaya Forest Regulation.

The committee highlighted that there had been “massive and indiscriminate” tree felling and site disturbance since 2017. Despite directions from the Union Environment Ministry, USTM authorities made no effort for compensatory afforestation.

The scale of damage was staggering: 93% of the university stood on broken, excavated, and damaged forest land, which the CEC described as an “unmitigated environmental disaster.”

Investigators also found extensive earth-cutting on slopes facing Assam, creating artificial water channels that directly worsened Guwahati’s flood situation. Shockingly, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was ever carried out before destroying the forested hills.

Adding to the crisis, the CEC discovered that illegal mining was rampant in Ri-Bhoi district, worsening the environmental situation. Overall, the report concluded that widespread deforestation and hill cutting across more than 100 hectares of watershed land amplified the 2024 Guwahati floods, submerging areas even 7 km away from the site.

CEC slaps heavy penalties on USTM

The consequences were severe. The CEC imposed a cumulative penalty of ₹150.35 crore on USTM. This figure was calculated for forest diversion, tree-cutting charges, environmental compensation, and restoration costs, and it was backdated to 2017 to cover the period of violations.

The committee also ordered that the 25-hectare encroached site be fully restored into natural forest within one year, including the removal of all illegal structures. USTM was also directed to carry out compensatory afforestation on equivalent non-forest land.

Additionally, the CEC recommended the immediate suspension of all mining, quarrying, and crushing operations in Ri-Bhoi district until a detailed review could be undertaken. The matter will now be heard by the Supreme Court, which will take a final call.

Assam CM Sarma, who had long been vocal about USTM’s activities, repeated his warnings about the illegal practices of the institution and its founder, Mahbubul Hoque.

The controversy around Hoque deepened when, on February 22, 2025, he was arrested by Assam Police from his Guwahati residence. The arrest was linked to alleged irregularities in Class XII CBSE physics examinations at an exam centre in Sribhumi district. While Congress and several liberal groups condemned the arrest as targeted harassment, Hoque was later granted bail.