Mega plan launched for a monkey-free Delhi

NEW DELHI, January 23: This is definitely no monkey business. At a recent high-level meeting in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, ...

NEW DELHI, January 23: This is definitely no monkey business. At a recent high-level meeting in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, a mega plan to rehabilitate the estimated 5,000 monkeys in the city was worked out.

The presence of monkeys at North Block and South Block, among other important places in the Capital, has been causing serious concern for several years.The scale of the involvement of various agencies matches the implementation of the MRTS system in the city. The enclosures will be made by the Central Construction wing of the CPWD, they will be funded by the Ministry of Urban Development, maintenance of the monkeys will be done by the NDMC and the agency responsible for catching them will be the MCD.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, in consultation with the Chief Wildlife Wardens, would transfer them to the neighbouring states of UP, Haryana and Punjab after three months.

The site at Rajokri forest near Aya Nagar (which is ideal, as after mining was stopped, the pits formconvenient water-bodies for these animals) was shown to the heads of the various agencies and mutually agreed upon. The total cost of the operation: Rs 6 lakh.

There is an intermediate stage, as the MCD has been directed to round them up even before the enclosure have been erected. Till then, they will find a home at the Delhi zoo, which has agreed to extend their hospitality.

Officials maintain that catching the simians is an uphill task. Officials at the MCD say that there are no contractors available at the standard rate of Rs 150 for catching a monkey. The Ministry then suggested that the rate be increased to Rs 250, as the success of the operation depends on catching them. In fact, tenders were taken out in newspapers to attract contractors to the scheme.

There is a general reluctance because the catchers claim that most of the time they are beaten up by the residents of the area, as the monkey is seen as the avatar of Hanuman.

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Incidentally, it is the complaints of the residents which has forcedthis massive operation. South Block, North Block, defence areas and colonies in South Delhi have often written to the Forest Department to free them from this menace.

There were two instances where different agencies showed novel methods of dealing with the monkeys. When they started troubling the Ministry of Urban Development, they called the CPWD, which came up with sedative-laced bananas. This immediately put a truckful of them to sleep for a while and they awoke to find themselves in UP forests.

In the other instance, a defence officer in South Block, worried that the monkeys might walk away with defence secrets’ file, got a black langur from another battalion, trained to scare the living daylights out of them. This operation lasted only for a day or two, though.

“We have tried putting them in forests around Delhi, but they come back to urban areas because of the easy food which they get from people,”said H C Dhawan, Chief Wildlife Warden.

Maybe this time they will stay where they belong.