BHUBANESWAR: In a major relief for thousands of chit fund scam victims in Odisha, the state government on Friday extended the deadline for the small depositors to apply for the refund of their money till March 31. The earlier cut-off date was January 31.
A notification issued by the Finance department said the refund mechanism remains open for small investors whose claims have been recommended by the Justice MM Das Commission of Inquiry but are yet to receive repayment so far.
The refund initiative primarily covers two categories of small depositors - those who deposited up to Rs 10,000 and whose claims have been recommended by the Commission of Inquiry, and depositors who invested up to Rs 8,000 with the Golden Land Developers Group of Companies and did not receive refunds during the initial phase. The depositors have been asked to immediately apply for the refund.
The notification said lists of those eligible for the refund are available on the respective district government websites. They are required to contact the revenue inspector concerned along with valid identity proofs such as Aadhaar card, Voter ID, driving license, PAN card, and submit the original deposit receipt. Bank details such as bank name, account number, account type and IFSC code will also be required.
The state has created a Rs 300 crore corpus fund to support small investors. By September 2025, authorities had refunded Rs 49.67 crore, including Rs 46 crore to 96,801 small depositors, with additional amounts raised from auctioning assets of fraudulent companies, under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) Act, 2011.