Ghaziabad: Making it clear that committees alone can’t solve growing monkey menace, Allahabad High Court has asked the state govt to ensure its newly constituted high-powered panel meets regularly, prepares a detailed action plan and acts with urgency.Stressing that the exercise must translate into action on the ground, the court observed that the committee’s work “should not remain on paper only” and asked it to place its progress report before the bench by Sept 1.The order came on a PIL filed in May 2025 by Ghaziabad residents Vineet Sharma and Prajkta Singhal, who flagged the worsening conflict between people and monkeys across the city and other districts. The petition also highlighted the plight of the animals, citing hunger, starvation and deteriorating living conditions.A bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra noted that the state has constituted a 13-member committee, with the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) as its member secretary. The state’s counsel informed the court that the committee, constituted on July 15, has been tasked with preparing a long-term action plan.The state also said urban local bodies have been directed to continue catching, transporting and releasing monkeys from urban areas. It informed the bench that the Wildlife Institute of India, which is preparing a long-term mitigation report, has also been asked to suggest immediate measures to tackle the problem.Recording the submissions, the bench said, “It is expected that the committee will look into the matter with urgency and take decision and appropriate steps for responding to the action plan suggested by the petitioners.”Akash Vashishtha and Pawan Kumar Tiwary, who represented the petitioners, placed a 34-point action plan before the court, outlining the role of various departments in tackling the menace. Vashishtha argued that district-level committees should also be constituted to address localised problems instead of referring every issue to the state panel. “There has to be a decentralised approach… which would be more effective,” he said.He also insisted on the inclusion of railway authorities, saying several stations with heavy passenger footfall face serious monkey-related safety risks. The state has already added the civil aviation department to the committee after petitioners cited a May 1 incident in which an IndiGo flight’s takeoff at Lucknow airport was aborted after two monkeys entered the runway.
