Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Tuesday launched the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal, which will help more than 10 crore depositors of Sahara Group claim their money back. “The process of returning the money of depositors, which was stuck in four cooperative societies of Sahara Group, has started with the launch of Sahara Refund Portal,” said Union Minister Amit Shah
Earlier on July 17, the Ministry of Cooperation said that to address the grievances of genuine members/depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies for payment of their legitimate deposits, the Ministry of Cooperation had filed an application in the Supreme Court, and the apex court had directed for Rs 5,000 crore to be transferred out of the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’, to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) for disbursement against the legitimate dues of the genuine depositors
The CRCS-Sahara Refund 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 Ltd., Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd., Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd
The Sahara Refund Portal (mocrefund.crcs.gov.in) is now live. Depositors of Humara India Credit Cooperative Society, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society, and Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society must have made deposits and have outstanding dues receivable before March 22, 2022, and March 29 for Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society, to be eligible for filing claim requests
In the initial phase, the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal will disburse up to Rs 5,000 crore to depositors. However, each depositor will be able to get only Rs 10,000 in the first phase. Amit Shah said that slowly, the amount of refund may be increased if the trial succeeds. As many as 1.07 crore investors can register on the refund portal and claim up to Rs 10,000 in the initial phase
According to Amit Shah, there are 4 crore depositors who are eligible to get up to Rs 10,000. Once this initiative succeeds, further decisions to address claims of depositors, who have more money stuck in the Sahara Group’s cooperative societies will be taken. The entire process of refund will be online, the Union Minister added
For making the claim on the Sahara Refund portal, the depositor’s Aadhaar should be linked to their mobile numbers and bank accounts. They will have to provide receipt details also. Amit Shah also said that depositors will have to download a form, fill it and re-upload it on the portal for further processing of the refund. The money will be deposited into the bank account of the claimant within 45 days
Visit the Home Page of CRCS Sahara Refund Portal and click on "Depositor Registration". Fill in the details like last 4 digits of Aadhaar Card, and mobile number linked with Aadhaar. Click on "Get OTP", then enter, and verify the same to complete the mandatory registration. Visit the Home Page and click on "Depositor Login" to log in. Depositors should have a Membership no, Deposit Account no, Aadhaar linked Mobile no, Deposit certificates/Passbook, PAN card (if claim amount is Rs 50,000 and above)
While several Sahara Group’s depositors complained that the portal is not working, some depositors are also dismayed over the Rs 10,000 limit on the refund to be issued by the portal in the initial phase. Scores of Sahara Group depositors have lakhs of rupees stuck due to the prolonged legal battle of the Sahara Group. However, the portal launch has brought some cheer to scores of depositors, who are hoping to get all their money back soon
While launching the Sahara Refund Portal, Amit Shah assured depositors that Rs 10,000 is not the final amount that will be refunded to depositors. He said, "This is a big exercise in which initially up to Rs 5,000 crore will be disbursed. Once the amount is exhausted, the government may go to the apex court for the release of more amount."