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.
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.
The hotel had initially sought planning permission without helipad and also handed over 10 per cent of around eight acres land to the CMDA as part of the Open Space Reservation. The OSR land was taken over by the Chennai Corporation last year.
After engineers of the Chennai Corporation and officials of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services on the MSB panel raised objections to the helipad, the hotel resubmitted the plan without showing the helipad, the CMDA official said. As the inauguration drew near, CMDA officials started persuading hotel authorities to demolish the structures that comprised the helipad.
Before the inspection for the process of issuing the completion certificate takes place, the hotel is likely to remove all additions objected to by the MSB panel in the 49-metre high building, the CMDA official added. The officials on the panel had stressed the need for a proper study on the impact of helipad on urban landscape.
