Bhubaneswar: In a major relief for for victims of chit fund scam in Odisha, the state government has extended the deadline for small depositors to complete the process for refund of their money till March 31. The previous cutoff date was January 31.
A notification issued by the Finance department said that the refund mechanism remains open for small investors whose claims have been recommended by the Chit Fund Investigation Commission but who are yet to receive repayment so far.
The depositors have been advised to immediately apply for the refund of their money. 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 be required.
Once the submitted documents are verified, the refund amount is expected to be disbursed directly to the applicant’s bank account within 15 days.
The depositors can check their application status on the official portal www.opid.odisha.gov.in using their affidavit number, application number, or other relevant details, the sources added.
The chit fund scams peaked between 2013 and 2018, affecting lakhs of people across Odisha, many of whom were small investors from rural and semi-urban areas. This extension is part of the government’s continued efforts, which includes a dedicated investigation commission and a structured refund mechanism, to resolve outstanding claims and provide relief to small depositors who lost their money to fraudulent schemes.
The state has created a Rs 300-crore corpus fund to support small investors.
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.
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.
