On July 18, 2023, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Amit Shah, will inaugurate the “Sahara Refund Portal”. This portal aims to facilitate the submission of legitimate claims by depositors of four cooperative societies belonging to the Sahara Group. These depositors have faced the issue of their funds being stuck for several years.
The Union Minister issued a statement saying, “A portal has been developed for submission of legitimate claims by the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of cooperative societies namely -- Sahara Credit Cooperative Society, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society.”
As per the previous announcement by the central government, it has committed to returning the funds of 10 crore investors within a span of nine months. This decision was made following a Supreme Court order, which mandated the transfer of Rs 5,000 crore from the Sahara-SEBI refund account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS). The recent launch of the “Sahara Refund Portal” further aligns with these efforts to ensure the return of funds to the affected investors.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister took to Twitter to announce, “Tomorrow is a special day for those whose money was stuck in Sahara’s cooperative societies for many years. The Modi government is moving towards fulfilling the resolution of returning the deposits of those investors, under which the “Sahara Refund Portal” will be launched tomorrow. The commitment of the Ministry of Cooperatives under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi will bring relief to all those people who are waiting to get back their hard-earned money.”
To address the concerns and unpaid dues of the depositors belonging to the Group, the ministry had previously submitted an application to the Supreme Court. The purpose of this application was to seek a resolution and provide redressal for the grievances faced by the depositors.
