That banana peel you tossed to the monkey sitting on your compound wall could now cost you Rs 25,000. Gujarat’s forest department has decided that what many once called kindness is, in fact, a public safety hazard — and it is done being polite about it.
The department has launched a crackdown on feeding monkeys and langurs near temples, housing societies and open grounds. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, amended in 2022, both species are protected under Schedule II.
However, now feeding them will be legally treated as baiting, a serious offence. A first-time violation attracts a fine of Rs 25,000. Repeat offenders can face imprisonment.
The numbers say why. Ahmedabad’s monkey population stood at 4,602 during the December 2024 census. That’s nearly double the count from five years ago.
The forest department has identified 198 locations across the city where monkey and langur presence are a recurring problem. Areas including Vastrapur, Navrangpura, Thaltej, Bopal, Ghuma, Ambawadi, Paldi, Shahibaug, Chandkheda, Kubernagar, Naroda, Narol, Sabarmati, Bilasiya, Maninagar and Asarwa are among the worst-affected.
The conflict is no longer occasional. Around 40 monkey bite cases are reported every month across the city. Chanakyapuri alone logged 20 bite incidents. In Gomtipur, authorities launched a special capture operation after a single monkey bit 12 people within five days.
Emergency calls involving monkey attacks, bites or home intrusions have become routine in Ahmedabad. A social worker from Amraiwadi said his housing society reported more than five incidents of bites or property damage in just six months.
Experts claim that casual feeding has fundamentally altered animal behaviour. Monkeys, once occasional visitors to the city, have now settled into empty plots, tree-lined colonies and neglected open grounds. Daily contact with humans has increased sharply — and so has the risk of conflict.
An official connected to the deputy conservator of forests, Ahmedabad, told a section of the media that feeding encourages dependence and aggression in the animals, which in turn leads to more conflict situations.
The findings are backed by the Human-Langur Interaction Survey, which mapped the scale of the challenge across the city.
Rescue data underlines the scale of the problem. The Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ahmedabad handled 1,014 langur-related rescue cases between January and December 2025. In just the first two-and-a-half months of 2026, from January 1 to March 15, another 70 rescues were recorded across 33 locations.
The forest department has stepped up both awareness drives and enforcement. Rescue teams have been asked to closely monitor areas where animal aggression is on the rise.
Officials are clear, this has moved well beyond a nuisance. It is now a public safety concern.
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