Monkeys In THIS Maharashtra Village Officially Own 32 Acres Of Land

According to land records found at the Upla gram panchayat, 32 acres of land are in the name of monkeys residing in the village.

Residents of Upla village never deny the monkeys food and even honour them during weddings.

Source : Getty

New Delhi: Monkeys in a village in Maharashtra's Osmanabad district have been given the rare honour of becoming the official owners of 32 acres of land. These simian residents are held in high regard by the residents of Upla village, who feed them when the monkeys show up at their doorsteps and even honour them during weddings, reported PTI. 

According to land records found at the Upla gram panchayat, it is clearly mentioned that 32 acres of land are in the name of monkeys residing in the village. However, it doesn't mention when or who created this provision. 

"While documents clearly state that the land belongs to monkeys, it is not known who created this provision for the animals and when it was done," the village sarpanch (head) Bappa Padwal told the news agency.

In the past, monkeys were part of all rituals conducted in the village, he said.

The number of monkeys has dwindled over the years as they do not stay at one location for long. The village is home to nearly 100 of them now, Paadwal told PTI.

Speaking further he said that the forest department has carried out plantation work in the plot and an abandoned house that used to stand there has also collapsed. 

"Earlier, whenever weddings were held in the village, monkeys would be offered a gift first and only then the ceremony would begin. Not everyone follows this practice now," the sarpanch said.

People never deny the monkeys food and always feed them when they show up at their house, the sarpanch added

Director-General of National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj MV Rao also confirmed in a tweet that monkeys own 32 acres of land in the village as per official records. 

Monkeys are owners
of 32 acres land in this village🤗

Yes.. as per official record,
true over the years also

Upala Gram Panchayat, Osmanabad district,
Maharashtra

Land at present has plantation
Number of owners 😊 @ 100 now pic.twitter.com/YU1hMl3YpI

— M V Rao @ Public Service (@mvraoforindia) October 16, 2022