Investors of the Sahara Group of Credit Cooperative Societies can claim refund with more ease as the cooperation ministry has notified authentication through unique identity Aadhaar. The ministry says there are nearly 1.22 lakh claims, entailing disbursal of ₹5,000 crore
On March 29, acting on a petition from the cooperation ministry, the Supreme Court ordered refunds from the Sahara-SEBI refund account to about 10 crore investors of four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group — Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (Lucknow), Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Limited (Bhopal), Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited (Kolkata), and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (Hyderabad).
In a notification dated June 20, the ministry said, “Aadhaar authentication of depositors of Sahara Group of credit cooperative societies shall be performed on a voluntary basis through the online portal being developed through Stockholding Document Management Services Ltd, using Yes/No or/ and e-KYC authentication facility, during the process of applications of depositors for disbursement against their legitimate dues, to facilitate the process of refund in efficient and transparent manner.”
Earlier, while highlighting the Supreme Court ruling, the ministry had said that a large number of complaints were received from across the country regarding non-payment of deposits by the co-operative societies. Taking cognisance of the complaints, notices were issued to the societies and a hearing was held before the Central Registrar. During the hearings, the Central Registrar directed the societies to pay the investors their dues and stopped them from taking fresh deposits or renewing existing ones.
Digitised claims
The ministry digitised about 1.22 lakh claims from depositors and sent them to the committees, which did not act on them. Each day a large number of applications are received from depositors for the payment of their dues. Further, the ministry moved a petition in the apex court, suggesting that Rs 5,000 crore from the Sahara-SEBI refund account could be used to pay the depositors of the four co-operative societies. The court accepted the plea and ordered the same.
It also ordered transfer of money to the Central Registrar for refund to the investors. Further, under the supervision of the Supreme Court-appointed retired judge R Subhash Reddy, and with the assistance of advocate Gaurav Agarwal, the Central Registrar will complete the payment process in nine months. The payment to the investors’ bank accounts will be made on the basis of proof of identity and deposit.
Now, with the notification, the ministry is hopeful of completing the payment through a transparent mechanism, which will provide relief to crores of investors and their families.