Chandigarh, Dec. 4 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday directed the secretary Agricultural Marketing Board of Chandigarh to explain how key sanitation functions at the Sector 26 Mandi have been outsourced.

The directions were passed by the bench presided over by chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry during resumed hearing of a suo motu petition initiated on July 30 over dis-ordinary fashion in which the vegetable and fruit market is being allowed to be run by Chandigarh administration.

Earlier, senior standing counsel, UT, Amit Jhanji had told the court that sanitation work was being handled by the MC Chandigarh from 2019 onwards but subsequently it backed out in 2023 and the committee roped in a private agency...