“Commendable Job”: Delhi HC Applauds Aga Khan Trust Efforts to Maintain Sunder Nursery

The Delhi High Court recently stated that the Aga Khan Trust had done a “commendable job” for heritage protection in the country by maintaining the sixteenth century park complex Sunder Nursery.

According to Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad,

“The affidavits filed in the matter reveal that the Respondent Trust has, in fact, done a commendable job in order to protect the heritage of this country. Illegal construction and encroachments have been removed; the park is being maintained – as already stated earlier; and an Award of Excellence has been conferred by UNESCO on the Trust for Cultural Heritage Conservation and Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.”

The observation was made by the bench while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that objected to vehicle entry and called for the preservation of flora and fauna within the biodiversity park adjacent to Humayun’s Tomb.

The petitioner had asked the Trust to prohibit vehicular movement and parking within a 100-metre radius of Archaeological Survey of India protected monuments; to prohibit vehicles from entering the nursery’s interior pathways; and to investigate eco-friendly alternatives such as commercial battery-operated vehicles for pick-up and drop-off at designated spots for those in need of assistance and suitable carriers for plants.

The Trust, which is responsible for the upkeep and preservation of Sunder Nursery and the monuments within it, stated that the park spans 90 acres and that significant changes in the landscape have occurred in the last decade or so.

The High Court noted that among the many changes were the planting of over 10,000 trees of various species, the establishment of a butterfly zone, the construction of a ground water recharge facility, the removal of illegal encroachments, and the discovery and restoration of five Mughal Era wells.