5 lakh people have registered on Sahara refund portal, says Amit Shah

New Delhi, Jul 21: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that 5 lakh people have registered on the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS)-Sahara Refund Portal, which was launched by the government two days ago to facilitate depositors of four cooperative societies of Sahara Group so that they can submit their claims online to get their money back. After inaugurating a national seminar on the delivery of Common Services Centre (CSC) services through Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Shah said, “The money of many citizens of the country was stuck in Sahara. The legal complexity was such that no way could be found. The Ministry of Cooperation along with all the concerned ministries of the Government of India filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court issued an order.” “Only two days before, I launched a portal and I am happy to share that 5 lakh people have registered on the portal so far, and this is the beginning of returning their money,” Shah said. “This is a big example, which shows that if a government acts proactively then even the most complex problems can be solved,” he added. Shah said that 17,176 PACSs have registered with the CSC till July 20, of which 6,670 have begun transactions. About 13,000-14,000 youths will get employment through this initiative, he said. Referring to his conversation with IT and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was also present on the occasion, Shah said, “Ashwini ji has said at the dais that he is ready to give work of train bookings to PACS. In the coming months, these 17,000 PACSs will be able to do the reservation, for which they will get a commission.” Shah further said that his ministry is in communication with the concerned department to allow PACS to provide air booking services. Shah said that there are 95,000 PACSs in the country and 3 lakh new PACSs will be established. Shah had launched the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal on Tuesday. Through this portal, depositors of four cooperative societies of Sahara Group – Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited, Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Limited, Hamara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited – can submit their claims to get their money back. In its order on March 29, 2023, the Supreme Court had directed that Rs 5,000 crore be transferred out of the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account' to the CRCS for disbursement against the legitimate dues of the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies. The process of disbursement is being supervised and monitored by Justice R Subhash Reddy, former Supreme Court judge. It was after the Supreme Court's order that the cooperation ministry developed the portal.