'Not just bananas, snatching funds too': MP monkeys raid temples, villages; Panchayats left helpless

BHOPAL: In Madhya Pradesh, monkeys don't just snatch bananas - they're about to bite into panchayat budgets too. The state forest department has issued a circular saying it will no longer pay for capturing rhesus macaques (macaca mulatta), or red-faced monkeys.

The circular cited the reason that the species was removed from the Wildlife Protection Act schedules in 2022, and hence, the forest department has no legal right to capture them.Meanwhile, from stealing prasad from temples in Ujjain to making away with undergarments in Rajgarh, complaints of monkey menace have piled up on the CM Helpline. But now, sarpanchs are being told to manage the menace with their own funds. Mahakal temple, Khajuraho heritage sites among affected areas The letter, sent to all collectors and municipal CEOs, points out that residents frequently lodge complaints on the CM Helpline portal about monkeys injuring people or stealing food. "Earlier, action was taken by the forest department, but the red-faced monkey has been kept out of the schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2022....

Local bodies, gram panchayats and municipal corporations may take action to catch the monkeys, and for this, prior permission of the department is not required.

Help from trained institutions may be taken," the circular reads.The move has left sarpanchs scrambling for answers. "We once spent over Rs 1.5 lakh to hire monkey catchers, but the population bounced back. Without a separate budget head, how can villages bear this burden," asked Subash Pandey of Badi Itma village in Rewa, recalling how his panchayat had paid Rs 500 per monkey to catchers from Mathura four years ago.He added: "We thought that would solve the problem, but it didn't. Five monkeys even escaped from cages and now the population has swelled again to 350. It feels like we wasted money and effort. Women here are so scared they hardly step out to work in the fields or fetch water. Some villagers have even fractured their legs while chasing or being chased away by the animals. If the government really wants panchayats to handle this, then it must create a clear budget head.

Otherwise, we are being asked to fight monkeys with empty hands." Complaints of monkey nuisance have been pouring in from several districts. In Rajgarh, villagers said a troop of red-faced macaques became notorious for stealing women's undergarments, forcing families to dry clothes in concealed spaces. "It became so embarrassing that women stopped hanging laundry in the open," a villager said.The nuisance isn't limited to rural belts. From Ujjain's Mahakal temple to Khajuraho's heritage sites, tourists and devotees regularly complain of food snatching, prasad raids and even monkey bites. Chief wildlife warden Shubhranjan Sen told TOI, "Most complaints come from urban areas, particularly around temples and tourist spots. The rescue can be taken care of by municipalities." TNN