Barely a week after its launch, the Sahara refund portal has attracted nearly 7 lakh registrations, with many more individuals organising their documents in the hope of reclaiming their funds. The CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal, inaugurated by Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on July 18, aims to expedite the refund process for depositors who have invested in four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group.
Over 6.8 lakh individuals have successfully registered on the portal, with 2.84 lakh providing their Aadhaar numbers for verification. Among the registered users, 18,442 claims have been verified so far. Remarkably, 97% of the claims are for amounts below Rs 40,000, and 87% are for sums below Rs 10,000. The collective claims in the under-10,000 category amount to Rs. 150 crore.
Government data reveals that a staggering 2.76 crore investors entrusted their hard-earned money, totaling Rs 80,011 crore, to the four Sahara cooperative societies. The majority of these investors hail from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Specifically, approximately 85 lakh investors, contributing Rs 22,000 crore, are from Uttar Pradesh, while around 55 lakh investors from Bihar have invested nearly Rs 15,000 crore, based on complaints registered across various forums.
Back in March, the Supreme Court issued an order mandating the transfer of Rs. 5,000 crore from the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’ to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies. This transfer was directed for the purpose of disbursing the legitimate dues to the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.
