Hyderabad: Jayatri Infrastructures’ Kakarla Srinivas drags his feet despite RERA’s direction to refund money to investors

Hyderabad: Techie K Arun Santosh (name changed) is running from pillar to post to get back the money that he invested in Jayatri Infrastructures India Private Limited's `Westin Galaxy' commercial project.

Anticipating good returns and to save his earnings from the IT sector, Arun Santosh, who hails from Uppal invested around Rs 11.25 lakh in 2021 and purchased a 250 sq. ft area in a commercial project ‘Westin Galaxy' of Jayatri Infrastructures India Private Limited in Gopanpally near Financial District. The company is led by Kakarla Srinivas, a native of Andhra Pradesh.

“In 2021, I came to know about the ‘Westin Galaxy' project of Jayatri Infrastructures India Private Limited through one of my friends who is a realtor. At the time of purchase, the builder said that the company had an agreement with another realtor to purchase the land from him to begin the commercial project,” Arun Santosh told NewsMeter.

The techie said that he had purchased a square ft for Rs 5,500 in the commercial project. “I invested all my savings in a phased manner starting from August 2021 with Rs 2.50 lakh and made the remaining payments of Rs 3.25 lakh in October and Rs 5.50 lakh in November,” he said.

Builder promised to pay Rs 100 per sq.ft as rent per month

Arun Santosh said that the builder promised to complete the project in three years and while making investments he even assured the customers to pay Rs 100 sq.ft as a rental payment per month after the completion of the project in three years. In case the builder failed to complete the project in the stipulated period then he promised to pay Rs 75 sq .ft per month.

“After investing the amount, I didn't make any regular follow-ups on the project with the builder due to my workload,” he said. Elaborating, he said in May 2022, the builder had contacted him and informed him that the sq .ft price had been increased to Rs 7,000 from Rs 5,500 and high returns could be expected in the future.

He said that the builder had made a collateral agreement with a few customers who invested above Rs 20 lakh in the project to make them believe in his commitment. “One of my friends who invested Rs 25 lakh received a collateral agreement from the builder. As per the agreement, the builder registered 100 sq yards of land in one of his projects near Hyderabad,” Arun Santosh said.

Builder delayed project due to financial constraints

“In December 2022, I came to know that the builder was delaying the project due to financial constraints. My friend who is a realtor also invested Rs 25 lakh in the project. He approached Jayatri Infrastructures India Private Limited's office at KPHB to know the exact status of the project. The staff there assured him of completing the project in the stipulated period through selling other properties of the builder,” Arun Santosh said.

In January 2023, Kakarla Srinivas was arrested by the police for deceiving customers in multiple real estate projects in and around Hyderabad. On several occasions, the counsel for Srinivas assured the customers of completing the Westin Galaxy project as per the deadline fixed by the builder. After a few months, Srinivas was released on bail and was absconding.

With no option left, around 100 investors of the Westin Galaxy project filed a police complaint with the KPHB police in March 2024. Similarly, they also approached the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and filed a complaint against Kakarla Srinivas.

RERA directed the builder to refund the investment amount with a 10 percent interest

Arun Santosh said that the RERA officials informed them that multiple complaints were registered against Kakarla Srinivas in various real estate projects.

“The RERA officials even told us that the builder duped them without ownership rights on his name from another realtor while he accepted the investments from the customers. The project is not grounded yet. After multiple hearings, the RERA issued an order on August 12, 202,4 directing Kakarla Srinivas to pay back the investors with a 10 percent rate of interest within 90 days. We are appealing to the state government and RERA to do justice for the victims, he said.