Amit Shah, Union Home and Cooperation Minister, today introduced a “Sahara Refund Portal” for valid claims by depositors of four 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 owned by the Sahara Group. Investors who are waiting to receive their money back will find relief from the portal. We will share all of the important details about the CRCS Sahara refund portal in this article, so keep reading!

In an effort to help over 10 crore depositors in Sahara Group cooperative societies to get their money back, the central government launched the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal on Tuesday, 18 July 2023 at 11 AM. The portal was launched to return the deposits made by thousands of people in four cooperative societies owned by the Sahara Group in about 45 days, according to the top BJP official. Amit Shah stated on Twitter, “After registration of depositors on ‘Sahara Refund Portal’ and verification of documents, the amount will be directly transferred to their bank account.”

Claim processing for depositors of four cooperative societies is expected to take about 45 days. After the verification process was successfully finished, applicants will be notified of the status of their claims via text message or the portal within 15 days.

However, it is crucial to remember that applicants are required to submit all claims pertaining to the four societies on a single claim application form. There is no charge for submitting the online form, and refund requests can only be made through the online portal.

Amit Shah Launched Sahara Refund Portal

The Sahara Refund Portal was created by an IFCI subsidiary to allow depositors of these cooperative societies to submit legitimate claims. Amit Shah assured the depositors during the portal’s launch that no one could take their money at the time and that they would get it back 45 days after registering on the platform.

“The process of returning the depositors’ money, which was stuck in four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group, has started with the launch of the Sahara Refund Portal,” Union Minister Amit Shah said at the refund portal’s opening.

“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,” Amit Shah announced on Twitter a day before.

Sahara Refund Portal: Initial Payment

According to the government, the 10 crore investors in the four 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 will receive their hard-earned money back. The ministry submitted an application to the Supreme Court to address the complaints of actual members and depositors of the cooperative societies owned by the Sahara Group. The Supreme Court ordered in March that Rs 5,000 crore be transferred from the “Sahara-Sebi Refund Account” to the CRCS for distribution against the legitimate dues of the genuine depositors in the cooperative societies of the Sahara Group.

Thus, a total of Rs 5,000 crore will be paid out to legitimate depositors in the first phase via the portal. However, each depositor will only receive Rs 10,000 in the initial phase; for those who have made larger investments, the amount will then be increased.

Amit Shah also stated that “Once the Rs 5,000 crore is utilized, we will approach the Supreme Court and request them to release more money so that the total refund of other depositors with higher amounts are processed.”

Sahara Refund Portal: Documents Required

By logging into this Sahara refund portal and completing the online application form, genuine depositors from the aforementioned cooperative societies of the Sahara Group may submit their claims. There are two main prerequisites for claiming your refund:

• Aadhar Registration with Mobile
• Aadhar Linking with the bank account

Moreover, to facilitate depositors, Common Services Centre would also assist and guide depositors in registering online on the refund portal.

Click here to apply now!

How to apply?

• Go to the official website cooperation.gov.in.
• Enter the depositor’s legitimate details.
• Fill out the Sahara India Refund application form and submit it.
• The Sahara India Refund Amount will be credited to the depositor’s legitimate bank account.

Claim processing time 

• After the verification process has been completed, applicants will be notified of the status of their claims via text message or the portal within 15 days.
• After registering on the portal, applicants will receive their refund within 45 days.
• However, the applicants are required to submit a single claim application form for all claims pertaining to the four societies.
• The government has made it clear that there is no charge for submitting the online form.
• Refund requests can only be submitted through the online portal.
• Each depositor would receive a refund of up to Rs 10,000, which would be increased for those who had invested more.
• The corpus of Rs 5,000 crore would be able to take care of the deposits made by 1.7 crore people in the first phase.

Bottom Line

Amit Shah called it a historical moment and said it was the first time depositors had received refunds in a case involving multiple governmental entities, each of which had carried out a seizure. Shah assured the depositors that their money could not be stopped at this time and that they would receive a refund 45 days after registering on the portal.

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