Forest dept says monkey business in Delhi is MCD’s

The department said the animal will now be treated similarly to urban animals like community dogs or cattle, which are the responsibility of the MCD

Delhi forest and wildlife department on Wednesday said that the rhesus macaque, a prominent monkey species found in Delhi, will no longer fall under their ambit as it is not a scheduled animal according to the recently amended Wildlife Protection Act, 2022, which came into force from April 1, 2023. The responsibility for the macaque will solely fall on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the department said.

A monkey crosses the road near Parliament in New Delhi. (ANI)

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The department said the animal will now be treated similarly to urban animals like community dogs or cattle, which are the responsibility of the MCD. Officials said that plans to carry out a monkey census, in works since 2020, is also not likely anymore owing to the animal’s new status.

“Based on the amended Act, the animal no longer enjoys protection under any schedule and is, therefore, not under the forest and wildlife department’s ambit. Earlier, rescues would be carried out for injured monkeys too. However, according to the new rules, this is the MCD’s mandate now, which handles stray dogs,” a senior forest official said, requesting anonymity.

However, an MCD spokesperson said they were unaware of such a development. “Nonetheless, MCD will shoulder the responsibility if it has to and ensure that the public is not inconvenienced,” the spokesperson said.

Rhesus macaque, based on the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, used to be under Schedule 2 of the Act. The Act had six schedules, with stringent protection provided to animals in schedules 1 and 2 in particular, like the Indian lion, rhinoceros, and tigers.

The department added it was yet to take a call on whether it will stop transporting monkeys to Asola, which is being done since 2007, following a Delhi high court order that year. The court had directed all rhesus monkeys in Delhi to be caught and transported to the sanctuary, which is currently inhabited by over 25,000 such monkeys.

“Following the change in its status, we are also looking to seek clarity on whether the monkeys will continue to be sent to Asola and if the department or the MCD will be required to do the transportation,” a second forest official said.

The department recently attempted to carry out a monkey census in Delhi, along with sterilisation but has been unable to carry it out due to multiple reasons.

A five-year census was awarded to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) which was to commence in April 2020 but never started, owing to the pandemic. It was later scrapped, owing to a fund crunch.

In 2022, a fresh proposal for a one-year census was again floated by the forest department through WII. However, it has been unable to secure funding from the Centre for the same. An official said a census is now unlikely with the funds set to be utilised in other areas. “The census plan has now been placed on hold. It is unlikely we will initiate one,” the second official said.

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Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge of the Delhi Development Authority’s biodiversity parks programme, said even with no protection under the Act, the monkey is largely a forest animal, unlike cattle or community dogs. “The department should ideally continue to treat monkeys the same way. The change in its status means it will not get stringent protection. Now, a person is likely to be prosecuted under other, more lenient acts, in case they injure or kill a monkey,” he said.