New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of the Ministry of Environment, AAP government and ASI on a plea seeking to immediately stop entry and parking of vehicles inside the Sunder Nursery in Nizamuddin area here beyond the Mughal Pavilion as it is endangering the avifauna and damaging the natural environment due to vehicular emission and pollution.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notices and asked the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Delhi government, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), trustees of World Heritage Site, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and Aga Khan Development Network to respond to the petition filed by a lawyer.

A 16th-century heritage park complex adjacent to the Humayun's Tomb, the Sunder Nursery was opened for the general public after a decade of restoration work by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture over two years ago.

UNESCO declared the Nursery a world heritage site in 2016 -- even before it could be fully renovated.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture had signed a memorandum to redevelop Sunder Nursery in collaboration with Delhi's Central Public Works Department, the Archaeological Survey of India and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The court on Monday also issued notice on a stay application filed along with the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on March 25.

The petition has sought directions to the authorities to cease activities threatening the natural habitat of the national bird, peacock, other avifauna and biodiversity in the Sunder Nursery and preserve the ecological sanctity.

Petitioner Binny Kalra said the Sunder Nursery is a heritage park and an extension of Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and deserves equal importance as its parent site regarding preservation and protection of its elements and the sanctity.

The petitioner, represented through senior advocate Kirti Uppal and lawyers Aman Bhalla, Aastha Dhawan and Aditya Raj, said CPWD and SDMC are creating several parking lots throughout the nursery at the cost of the biodiversity which they cannot be allowed to do.

“In addition to this, a large-scale parking lots are also being created near the Neela Gumbad which would require mass felling of trees and large-scale destruction of biodiversity. The respondents have cleared out hundreds and thousands of trees all along the periphery road which has led to the clearing out of thousands of square feet of plantation area,” the plea claimed.

It said earlier vehicular entry was allowed only from 9AM to 4PM during the working hours of CPWD, which operates the nursery, for the purpose of purchasing plants.

However, with the sudden increase in footfall at the Sunder Nursery post lockdown, followed by an exponential increase in the number of visitors due to the opening of the restaurant, the respondents have made a highly questionable decision of permitting unrestricted vehicular access inside the park throughout the day during the park timings, it said.

The unrestricted entry of vehicles has led to an incongruous situation of traffic congestion and jams, especially on weekends, inside the pristine grounds of Sunder Nursery, it contended.

“The continuous movement of vehicles all through the day in the close vicinity of the biodiversity zone is gravely detrimental to the avifauna and ecology of Sunder Nursery,” the plea said.

The petition sought to immediately stop the work of creating more parking spaces along the peripheral road of the park and not to permit vehicles to be parked in the area.

It also sought to immediately stop the entry and parking of vehicles inside the Sunder Nursery beyond the Mughal Pavilion and restrict parking to the designated parking area at the entrance of the Gate 2.

Direct the authorities to strictly impose a littering fine on visitors and take other appropriate measures to educate visitors and encourage responsible waste disposal behaviour. It said.

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