By the time the local authorities discovered the sculpture garden Chand was building in a cleared area of jungle, he had been at work on it for seven years. At first, they wanted to put a stop to his unauthorized work project on land that belonged to the state.

However, once people had seen and admired his astonishing creations, officials not only felt obliged to let him continue his work, but also decided to provide him with a truck and fifty workers to assist him. The park was inaugurated in 1976, and visitors began to pile in. The Rock Garden in Chandigarh was about to become a legend.

In 1988, the Governor of the Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh led a dedication ceremony for the Garden. This event is recorded on a rock at the garden, which is inscribed with the words "Dedicated to the spirit of creativity by the people of India."

While he worked in secret, Chand used rubble from roadbuilding and quarries, along with industrial waste. His spectacular garden, which expanded to more than double the original fifteen acres, is built entirely from items that were thrown away. In the walls along the garden paths linking the twelve acres of interlinked courtyards, Chand has incorporated discarded bottles, bangles, ceramics and electrical waste.

The garden is filled with concrete sculptures of people and animals that have been covered with ceramic, mosaic-fashion. Sections are divided from one another by sculpted walls and the garden also contains many fountains.

In Januray 2011, the Nek Chand Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to urge him to ensure that Chand is awarded the national Padma Vibhushan Award. Calling the artist "a shining light" in ecology as well as art, the letter referred to him as "the soul of Chandigarh." The artist was given the less prestigious Padma Shri award in 1984.

Books have been written about Chand and he has been given honorary citizenship in various countries . Beyond his garden in Chandigarh, Nek Chand's statues are on display in cities around the world, including London, Paris, Berlin, Lausanne and New York. He has also built other gardens, one in Kerala, in Southern India.

Born in 1924, long before the subcontinent achieved independence and was partitioned into India and Pakistan, Chand still works in the Rock Garden. Amazingly, he encourages international visitors and students to leave waste material in his office compound where they can be recycled into additional art objects.