12 lakh Sahara depositors in Raj await 9,700 crore

Jaipur: Over 12 lakh depositors in Rajasthan are still waiting for refunds worth nearly Rs 9,700 crore from Sahara Group's cooperative societies, the Centre said in Parliament Tuesday, acknowledging that repayments have been slow.Govt said over 1.4 crore applications have been received nationwide on the CRCS–Sahara Refund Portal, with total claims exceeding Rs 97,412 crore. Against this, refunds worth only Rs 8,429 crore have been disbursed so far, benefitting about 39.46 lakh depositors.
The govt's written response was to a poser by Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat. He said, "These figures clearly show that crores of small and poor depositors are still waiting for their own money. Announcements are being made, but the reality on the ground is that people are running from pillar to post for refunds."Roat said Rajasthan's situation is "particularly alarming", with only a small fraction of applicants receiving payments so far. "In a state like Rajasthan, where most depositors are from tribal, rural and working-class backgrounds, such delays are unacceptable," he said, adding that "the slow pace of refunds is pushing families into financial distress."The MP also pointed to transparency gaps, after the govt said it does not maintain district-wise or Lok Sabha constituency-wise data on Sahara refunds. Roat said, "When the govt itself does not have detailed data, how will accountability be fixed? This clearly reflects a lack of seriousness in monitoring the refund process."Govt told Parliament the refund exercise is being carried out under a Supreme Court order dated March 29, 2023, under which Rs 5,000 crore from the Sahara–Securities and Exchange Board of India Refund Account was transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) to facilitate direct payments to genuine depositors of four Sahara cooperative societies. The refund deadline has been extended to Dec 31, 2026.