Sunder Nursery, together with Humayun’s Tomb, Batashewala Complex, Delhi Zoo and Purana Qila, forms a significant ecological belt along Mathura Road. The region is a rich repository of avifauna and presents a brilliant opportunity to conserve and exhibit Delhi’s biodiversity. Portions of land used for dumping construction rubble at Sunder Nursery have been converted into microhabitat zones since 2009, which aims to replicate Delhi’s depleted landscape in order to become a ‘live site’ for increased environmental awareness amongst students and visitors.
Landscape Masterplan designed by Shaheer Associates in 2008 and approved by CPWD, ASI, and AKTC has since then been working in creating Sunder Nursery as a valuable part of Delhi’s Urban Heritage.
Read the Sunder Nursery reportUnder the DDA MasterPlan 2021, Sunder Nursery has been declared as a ‘District Park.’ In July 2007, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) entered into a MoU with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) to help upgrade Sunder Nursery into a world class nursery to serve the people of Delhi and its visitors. Working closely with the reputed landscape architecture office of Shaheer Associates, a design proposal was prepared to strengthen the site’s nursery functions, and enhance its natural beauty and preserve its heritage character.
To streamline nursery functions over 20 acres remain for nursery functions operated by CPWD, with nine acres of nursery beds, accessible by the newly laid out peripheral road, have been prepared at the northern edge of the nursery. An effective irrigation system will optimize the use of water and integrate supply with rainwater harvesting.
Standing at the edge of Delhi Zoo, the ecological zones, including secured habitat for ground nesting birds such as peafowl, will encourage migratory birds.
Spread over 90 acres, most of the present Sunder Nursery site can be thought of as a productive nursery landscape dotted by historical monuments. Nearly 146 tree species have already been identified at Sunder Nursery, some of which are unique to the Delhi region. They support a diverse ecosystem providing a rich bio-habitat on site. AKTC proposes to develop 20 acres of the site as a simulated microcosm of Delhi’s landscape.
