Simian menace: No monkey sterilised in Delhi since Jan 2019

New Delhi: Not a single monkey has been sterilised in Delhi since January 2019 when the Centre released funds to the city forest department to control the simian population through laparoscopic sterilisation, officials said.

In 2018, the then chief wildlife warden, Ishwar Singh, had prepared a three-year plan to sterilise monkeys of reproductive age to curb the simian menace in the national capital. The Centre sanctioned Rs 5.43 crore to the forest department in January 2019 for sterilisation of 8,000 monkeys in the first year. Over two-and-a-half years later, officials say "not a single monkey has been sterilised in Delhi".

"The forest department had floated tenders thrice, but no agency (to capture and sterilise monkeys) came forward. Not much could be done during the (COVID-19) pandemic. I believe the fund has been returned to the Centre. There is no proposal for sterilisation pending now," a senior forest department official said. In 2007, the Delhi High Court had asked municipal corporations to catch monkeys from human habitations and shift them to Asola sanctuary.

It had directed the forest department to provide the animals food so that they do not venture out. At present, there are more than 25,000 monkeys in the sanctuary and there is no count of those roaming free in human habitations, according to officials. Sonya Ghosh, a member of a Delhi High Court-appointed committee for translocation of monkeys, said the panel last met before the pandemic and nothing has happened since then.