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 incl

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