MUMBAI, Nov. 26 -- In the wake of rising complaints of monkeys straying into urban areas and homes, damaging property and, in some cases, attacking and injuring people, the state forest department on Tuesday issued a Government Resolution (GR) on the issue. The department has laid down a Standard Operating Procedure for trapping the monkeys and releasing them 10 km away from human settlements to prevent their return. The GR says that in any reported case of human-monkey conflict, the local civic body must record the complaint and call the range forest officer. The local forest guard has to confirm the number of monkeys, details of the affected area, date of the onset of the nuisance and the nature of damage, and send a report to the assistant conservator of forests (ACF). The ACF, in consultation with the deputy conservator of forests and, if needed, the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Nagpur, will issue written orders specifying the area and number of monkeys to be rescued and released. After verification of the complaint, the number of animals involved and the damage caused, a trained rescue team will be permitted to capture the monkeys. Each forest division has been asked to maintain its own rescue squads, and forest department officials have been told to appoint experienced licensed handlers when required. Whenever a monkey is captured, the animal has to undergo a basic medical check-up by a vet. The GR says that photographs and short videos must be recorded to maintain transparency. Only after this can the monkeys be transported and released into a suitable forested area 10 km away from human settlements. The aim, officials say, is to break the pattern of monkeys returning to populated areas in search of food. The forest department explains in the GR that repeated sightings of monkeys in urban markets, housing societies and farms had made the step necessary. Forest staff and local civic bodies will now be expected to coordinate closely, especially in busy urban belts where such conflicts have risen sharply in recent years. The GR says that citizens often feed monkeys. However, due to changed environmental conditions, nutritional deficiencies, internal strife within monkey groups, and human intervention, some monkeys or their groups become aggressive. This leads to monkey-human conflict situations....