Over 130 Homebuyers Of Vertillas Project In Kharadi Protest Against Builder Over Possession Delay

Over 130 homebuyers of the Vertillas project in Pune’s Kharadi took to the streets on Saturday in a peaceful protest, alleging fraud and mismanagement by the builder. The protest began at the Kharadi Police Station and proceeded to the project site, drawing attention to the plight of homebuyers who have invested their life savings in the stalled project.

The project, originally launched in 2013 under the name Le Reve, was rebranded as Vertillas and sold to buyers in 2023 with the promise of possession by June 2024. However, despite collecting up to 90% of the property value from buyers by January 2024, the construction progress remains negligible, and the builder is untraceable.

‘Authorities need to intervene’

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Dr Supriya Pendke, one of the buyers, said, “Vertillas is a project in Kharadi that began in 2013 under the name Le Reve. It was sold to 130 people in 2023 with the promise of possession in June 2024. The builder promised rent if he delayed possession. He collected 90 per cent of the amount by January 2024 and delayed the construction work. There is hardly any progress in the construction. Many owners have filed a case in RERA, but it is taking time to act. Currently, the builder is unreachable, his office doesn’t exist and he has fled, keeping only a nominal 10 people at the site. People are facing the severe brunt of this fraud by paying high EMIs and rent without any compensation or possession. Authorities need to intervene and provide justice to us.”

‘The builder has meticulously planned this fraud’

Sherin Daniel, a lawyer and homebuyer, expressed, “Arman Kothari is the builder of Vertillas project who has cheated us through this real estate scam. The builder has meticulously planned this fraud, with his intention always being to cheat common people of their hard-earned money. The builder has been continuously refusing to meet flat owners and the sole answer he has to all questions of flat owners is that ‘his legal team will speak to us’. We have organised this protest to awaken the authorities about the broad daylight scam and to highlight our helplessness.”

Prakash Tewary, another homebuyer, said, “I am a middle-class man who worked for 20 years and saved money to buy a home in Kharadi. However, the builder has turned our lives upside down. Hence, we have organised a peaceful protest with banners from the police station to the Vertillas site to make the authorities realise the gravity of the situation and take action against the builder.”

‘The builder is not picking up calls, not showing up at the site’

Megha Lakhe, also a homebuyer, expressed, “A peaceful protest was held by owners after years of false promises by Kothari. He has looted our hard-earned money and has run away. He is not picking up calls, not showing up at the site and has blocked us on WhatsApp. Authorities are not moving a stone since he has an extension till June 2025, which he obtained through a fake architect after showing a shortage of labour, while other projects in the same area have been completed in this one year. I urge everyone not to book under-construction projects at all.”

“This is a blatant betrayal of trust—over ₹40 crore mismanaged, with fake progress reports and unpaid GST. We demand justice and stricter laws to protect homebuyers from such fraud,” said CA Kalyani Bhaskar, also a homebuyer.

Meanwhile, The Free Press Journal contacted Kothari for his response to the allegations made by the homebuyers. However, he refused to comment.