Need a year for plan on human monkey conflict: UP Govt tells High Court

Manish Goyal, additional advocate general (AAG) on behalf of the UP government, made the submissions before the high court during a February 17 hearing related to a Public Interest Litigation

The Uttar Pradesh government has told the Allahabad High Court that it requires at least one year to prepare a brief action plan on the population status and conflict pattern of monkeys during a hearing on the growing incidence of human-monkey conflict.

The court was addressing the plea filed by Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar residents, Vinit Sharma and Prajakta Singhal, highlighting the growing incidence of human-monkey conflict due to an alleged uncontrolled and exponential rise of monkey population in Ghaziabad. (HT Archive)

Manish Goyal, additional advocate general (AAG) on behalf of the UP government, made the submissions before the high court during a February 17 hearing related to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The order was uploaded this Wednesday.

The court was addressing the plea filed by Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar residents, Vinit Sharma and Prajakta Singhal, highlighting the growing incidence of human-monkey conflict due to an alleged uncontrolled and exponential rise of monkey population in Ghaziabad.

The petitioners’ plea also referred to a June 25, 2016, HT report titled “More monkeys in urban areas of Ghaziabad than rural parts,” which discussed 5,341 monkey sightings during a 2016 forest department census, reporting 1,683 sightings of monkeys (Macaca speciosa) in rural area of Modinagar and 3,658 in the urban Ghaziabad range.

It was also submitted that until the baseline data is ascertained through a systematic study, the existing standard operation procedures (SOPs) regarding capture, transportation, release, and a tentative action plan can be used to address the monkey issue.

On January 8, the state’s counsel had told the court that the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Department is responsible for managing the monkey menace. This Department would prepare a comprehensive work plan within one month, and other departments would provide support as required.

On February 17, the AAG also submitted that under the proposed SOP, a high-powered committee has been constituted, and a detailed and exhaustive survey is required under the new action plan to mitigate the situation.

The court was further apprised that under the existing SOP, the district-level authority shall take all necessary action to control the menace.

On February 17, the bench directed that the court needed to know what remedial actions or steps the district-level committee had undertaken under the existing SOP.

“In view of the proposed study, which is to be undertaken, we find that the action plan, which the authority has taken under the existing SOP qua districts Ghaziabad and Mathura, be firstly apprised to the court on or before the next date fixed in the matter through an affidavit. For the remaining districts, the action plan may also be placed on the next date fixed stating therein what measures have been taken by the district level authority to control the menace of the monkeys,” the court said.

During a hearing on September 19, 2025, the court had come down heavily on the respondents and stated that “despite all the respondents agreeing to the fact that the monkey menace does exist and is creating havoc with the lives of the public, none of the respondents apparently is prepared to take the responsibility to control the said menace. Each department is seeking to shift the responsibility to another.”