New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) An amount of Rs 8,429.42 crore has been disbursed to 39,46,550 depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies as on January 20, 2026, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Cooperation on Tuesday.

The largest amount of Rs 2,228.27 crore has been refunded to depositors in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rs 1,892.89 crore in Bihar, and Rs 847.67 crore to depositors in Jharkhand.

The Supreme Court has ordered that an additional amount of Rs 5,000 crore be transferred from ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’ to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies and granted extension for disbursement of refund to the depositors up to December 31, 2026, the statement said.

Applications received on the Sahara Refund Portal are being processed in a transparent manner, on proper identification and on submitting proof of their identity and deposits. The payment is being deposited directly in Aadhaar seeded bank account of the genuine depositors. Presently, payment up to Rs 50,000 is being disbursed to each genuine depositor of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies against verified claims through Aadhaar seeded Bank account, the statement said.

Further, in case of any deficiency found in the application of the depositor on the portal, deficiencies are being conveyed to them for re-submission of their application through the re-submission portal already launched on November 15, 2023, the statement said.

The Supreme Court had issued an order on March 29, 2023, that out of the total amount of Rs. 24,979.67 crore lying in the “Sahara-SEBI Refund Account, Rs 5,000 crore be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who, in turn, shall disburse the same against the legitimate dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, which shall be paid to the genuine depositors in the most transparent manner and on proper identification and on submitting proof of their deposits and proof of their claims and to be deposited in their respective bank accounts directly.

In compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, an Online Portal “CRCS-Sahara refund portal” https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in was launched on July 18, 2023 for submission of claims by the genuine depositors of four Multi-State Cooperative Societies of Sahara Group, namely; Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Lucknow, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd., Bhopal, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Kolkata, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd., Hyderabad for refund of their legitimate deposits.

In accordance with the order, the disbursement is being supervised and monitored by former SC judge, Justice R. Subhash Reddy, with the assistance of advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who was appointed Amicus Curiae, as well as the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies in disbursing the amount to the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, the statement added.

–IANS

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