Unwanted?

New Delhi, Nov. 7: Madhya Pradesh has had enough of monkey business.

The state has urged the Supreme Court not to direct the relocation of 300 more monkeys from Delhi to its forest areas.

The first batch of the big-city brats — 250 were moved to a Madhya Pradesh sanctuary in 2004 — is already driving officials there up the wall.

The apex court had on October 10 directed authorities to hand over 300 monkeys caught in the capital to the chief wildlife warden of Madhya Pradesh. But the state government moved an application expressing inability to rehabilitate the simians.

The government cited the problems it faced while rehabilitating the 250 monkeys in Palpur Kuno Sanctuary in Sheopur district. It said the animals were accustomed to city life and often raided neighbouring villages, destroying crops and eating birds’ eggs.

The forest department had reported a decrease in the number of some species of birds since the monkeys arrived, it said.

The state government requested the court to look for an alternative solution to Delhi’s monkey menace.

It said it has received only Rs 25 lakh out of the Rs 51 lakh it had sought for rehabilitating the batch of 250 monkeys. The court should direct the Centre to release the funds, its application said.

If the Madhya Pradesh government does not accept them, there are not many options where the monkeys can find a home. Himachal Pradesh already has an estimated population of 60,000 to 2 lakh monkeys, and Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab have been ruled out as they do not have enough forest cover.