Overview

• The Central Empowered Committee submitted its report to the apex court, finding USTM used forest land without mandatory central clearance under the 1980 forest law.
• The panel recommended a cumulative Rs 150.35 crore levy on the university, with penalties calculated under seven heads and backdated to June 2017 and April 2019 for two parcels.
• All non-forestry activity on the encroached site should cease immediately, and the campus and nearby buildings should be restored to forest condition within one year.
• Citing rampant illegal extraction, the committee sought a halt to mining, quarrying and crushing in Ri‑Bhoi pending a MoEFCC-led multidisciplinary review, plus 30‑day digital mapping by leaseholders and rapid reappraisal of prior clearances or automatic closures.
• Meghalaya was told to finalize a state ‘forest’ definition within six months, create a public digital registry, impose a May–September seasonal moratorium on major earthworks, and implement a watershed restoration plan overseen by MoEFCC.