Allahabad HC seeks action plan to tackle monkey menace in UP

Prayagraj, Jan 14 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has ordered state authorities to prepare an action plan to deal with the monkey menace in the state.

A bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra also said that while preparing the action plan, the tentative plan produced by the Animal Welfare Board of India may also be taken into consideration by the environment department.

The court on Tuesday was hearing a PIL filed by social worker Vineet Sharma and another plea by a Ghaziabad resident.

It also ordered to implead the principal secretary, urban development department, UP, as party in the case.

Additional advocate general of the state produced a communication from the UP's special secretary, indicating that the National Board of Wildlife in its Standing Committee meeting held on October 29, 2025 made some recommendations including that the state government shall prepare detailed, site-specific mitigation plans identifying and categorizing areas of conflict.

However, the court was of view that while the problem is not disputed, willingness to tackle the problem is clearly absent as only a proposal has been given by the National Board of Wildlife.

Asking the respondents to do the needful as repeatedly ordered, the court fixed February 27 as the next date for hearing the matter.

During the last hearing in the matter, the court had observed, "...despite all the respondents agreeing to the fact that the monkey menace does exist and is creating havoc in the lives of the general 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." "On part of the state also, it is indicated that though a meeting of all the departments was held, therein also the responsibility was sought to be shifted on one another," it had said. PTI COR RAJ KVK KVK