The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has ordered the demolition of the helipad on the terrace of the soon-to-be-opened ITC Grand Chola Hotel in Guindy. It was the first helipad in the city to be constructed atop a building but the plan was not approved by the CMDA.

The hotel is now demolishing the state-of-the-art helipad to obtain completion certificate from the CMDA. The certificate, which can be issued only when a building does not flout norms laid down by the government, is required for other licences to be obtained by the hotel as per a report in The Hindu by Aloysius Xavier Lopez.

The hotel management has assured that they would comply with the CMDA directive, a senior CMDA official said. The hotel, which is the largest in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, is likely to be inaugurated next month. The multi-storeyed building (MSB) panel of the CMDA had rejected a revised proposal by the hotel for construction of the helipad a few months ago.