Noida to spend ₹30L to catch monkeys, invites tender

NOIDA: The Noida authority is set to spend ₹30 lakh to address monkey menace, and wants to rope in an agency that holds expertise in capturing marquees since about 1,000 monkeys in residential areas and villages have become a safety hazard for local people, especially the elderly and children, officials said on Tuesday.

The move came after multiple complaints were received from residential and other areas about monkey menace. The authority routinely gets complaints from people, particularly residing in plotted houses where the monkeys barge into houses and become a nuisance, said officials.

On Monday, the authority floated a tender inviting applications from interested agencies, with the last date to apply being November 25. In March, 2024, an attempt to address monkey problem failed to elicit any response, said officials. “This time we hope that the expert agencies will submit their applications…We will pay for every monkey that they catch as per the terms of the tender,” said SP Singh, general manager, Noida authority.

The project includes capturing, feeding, and providing the logistical support for monkey catching, said officials.

“The primary component of the project is to capture at least 1,000 monkeys, with each capture estimated at a rate of ₹2,500. This brings the total cost for the capture operation to ₹25 lakh. Also, to capture, provisions have been made for feeding of the captured monkeys. This includes providing daily supplies of chana, moongfali (peanuts), and bananas. Feeding is budgeted at ₹1,000 per day, resulting in an annual feeding cost of ₹3.65 lakh. This amount ensures a consistent food supply, addressing the nutritional needs of the monkeys during their stay,” Singh added.

Logistical support is also factored into the plan, covering the transport and equipment needed by the team, including cages for the nab monkeys. This component of logistical support is estimated at ₹80,000, said officials.

The project involves catching the monkeys and releasing them into protected forest zones, where they can stay safely and without any trouble to their habitat, officials said.

Monkeys entering into houses, snatching eatables from residents and attacking children are common in many areas including sector 135, sector 11, 12, 14, 15, 19, 29, 117, 118, 119, 120 and 121 among others.

“Unknowingly we let our backside gate open recently and a group of monkeys entered our house including the kitchen. They ransacked our house, throwing away food from the fridge within no time. Thank God our children were in school. The authority must address this menace without delay,” said Dipika Chauhan, a resident of Sector 130.