Chandigarh, May 11 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought a response from the Chandigarh administration on the state of veterinary infrastructure and regulatory mechanism in the city following a plea by NGO Megafauna Welfare Foundation. The NGO, in its plea, stated that the UT had failed to set up a statutory veterinary council or requisite infrastructure as mandated in Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984. The absence of such a council has led to a lack of regulatory mechanism forregistration, supervision, and discipline of veterinary practitioners. The city also does not have any veterinary college or institution recognised by the Veterinary Council of India due to which aspirants are compelled to seek education outside Chandigarh, the plea further stated. "The absence of such institutions defeats the object of the Act, which envisages standardised veterinary education and availability of qualified professionals. The existing veterinary infrastructure in Chandigarh is grossly inadequate and disproportionate to the livestock population. The limited number of veterinary hospitals and sub-centres are overburdened, and there is a complete absence of mobile veterinary units," the NGO stated in court. The division bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry directed advocate Himanshu Malik, appearing for the UT administration, to seek instructions on whether Chandigarh has an independent veterinary council or shares one with another union territory. The matter has been listed for next hearing on May 19....