Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has asked the district-level committees to present their action plan on tackling the monkey menace across Uttar Pradesh, following a PIL highlighting the growing man-animal conflict. The PIL, filed by Vineet Sharma and Prajakta Singhal, seeks to balance human rights under Article 21 of the Constitution with animal rights, particularly the right to food and freedom from cruelty. Hearing the PIL, a division bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Kunal Ravi Singh directed to list it as fresh on April 6. “In view of the proposed study, we find that the action plan, which the authority has taken under the existing SOPs in respect of Ghaziabad and Mathura, be apprised to the high court on or before the next date of hearing through an affidavit,” the court said in its order dated Feb 17. Additional advocate general Manish Goyal submitted before the court that a systematic field survey is required to understand the population status of rhesus macaques (rhesus monkeys) and identify the hotspots of their population, their conflict, and suggest the management strategy to mitigate the menace in Uttar Pradesh. Goyal argued that developing an effective action plan requires at least a year, considering population status and conflict patterns. He submitted that until the baseline date is ascertained, through a systematic study, the existing SOPs titled “instructions regarding the capture, transportation, and release of monkeys” and “proposed tentative action plan to address the issue of the monkeys” can be used to deal with the situation. He added that a high-power committee is already in place under the proposed SOP. He assured the court that authorities will take all necessary steps to control the monkey menace. Akash Vashishtha and Pawan Tiwari, counsel for the petitioners, painted a grim picture — people battling monkey mayhem, while the animals themselves fighting hunger and starvation across the state. They presented newspaper reports of monkey attacks in Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Bareilly, and Agra, arguing the problem is statewide, not just isolated incidents.
