Noida: Allahabad High Court has directed the 13-member committee formed by the chief secretary to monitor and mitigate the monkey menace to continue its work and ensure its recommendations are implemented by various departments.A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra ruled on Oct 12 that local bodies and departments must report action taken to the committee, which will then pass appropriate orders, and the minutes of its meeting must be produced before the court on the next date on Nov 27.“It is expected that the committee would hold its meeting at the end of one month from the date the directions have been issued and thereafter produce the instructions before the court on the next date,” the bench said.The court noted that while an attempt had been made to involve various govt departments, the panel appeared to have concluded that its work was over once the orders were passed.“The indications made to various departments are essentially suggestive in nature and there is no specific directions to any of the departments to undertake the said activities in a given time frame,” the bench observed. “It was expected of the committee that even if the suggestions were made, the committee should have continued to oversee the implementation of the suggestions.”The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Ghaziabad residents Vineet Sharma and Prajkta Singhal. They have sought directions to the authorities to control the monkey menace in the district in particular and across northern states in general. The bench has remained unhappy over what it has described as the delayed and lackadaisical attitude of state authorities.On July 16, the court had said the committee had turned out to be an eyewash, formed only to seek adjournments while continuing to do nothing. It said nothing had apparently happened at the meeting except the signing of the attendance sheet.“The said conduct of the committee members and the general attitude of the state, qua the directions issued by the court, cannot be countenanced,” the bench had observed.The court added that committee members were not serious about the problem facing residents and the public, a trend it had noticed over almost 15 months. It had warned that if members failed to hold meetings, the principal secretaries of environment, forest and climate change and of urban development, who are joint chairpersons of the committee, would have to appear in person on Oct 12.At the Oct 12 hearing, the court noted that the committee had named the department of environment, forest and climate change as the nodal department for issues linked to the petition. As the department was not a party to the case, the bench decided to implead it.The bench also allowed an interlocutory application filed by Gauri Maulekhi of People for Animals (PFA), who has challenged the efficacy of mass sterilisation of rhesus macaques. The court directed that copies of the application be circulated to the respondents and the petitioner, seeking their responses.Activists say the monkey menace cannot be checked by sterilisation alone and want a science-led, multi-agency plan. They want Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, to conduct a monkey population survey, with the population management method decided in consultation with the institute and bodies such as Animal Welfare Board of India. The forest department, they say, should select and develop rehabilitation sites with suitable standards for an improved natural habitat, and expand riparian plantations (ape forests) for monkey habitat.They also want Standard Operating Procedures for the capture, transportation and release of monkeys. At the district level, they seek inter-departmental committees, built with the administration’s active cooperation and given the capacity to manage monkeys. Stronger solid waste management, monkey-proof bins at hotspots and curbs on feeding in public places are also on the list, along with awareness campaigns with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), markets and hotels on covering garbage, segregating waste and not feeding monkeys.
