Lured of high returns, investors watch it all vanishing into thin air. That's the reality faced by lakhs of people in Odisha who have fallen prey to the chit fund scam, a financial scandal that rocked the state over a decade ago. While the government promised justice and refunds, the reality paints a different picture. It's a story of endless delays, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and a justice system that not moving forward. As a financial journalist, it's disheartening to see the plight, who are not just battling financial losses but also the system that seems to have forgotten them.
Refunds: A Distant Dream?
The chit fund scam in Odisha, involving companies like Golden Land and Rose Valley, duped countless investors, many of whom were from low-income backgrounds. After the scam was exposed, the state government, in an attempt to provide relief, assured the victims that their money would be returned. Special courts were established in Cuttack, Balasore, Sambalpur, and Brahmapur to expedite the process. However, 14 years later, the process of getting refunds to the victims are slow.
Roadblocks and Staff Shortages
One of the biggest hurdles is the complexity of the legal and administrative process. The designated courts and the office of the competent authority, responsible for verifying documents, are understaffed.
Initially, the special chit-fund court in Cuttack heard cases six days a week. This has now been reduced to a mere three days a week. The office of the Additional District Magistrate in Cuttack, which acts as the competent authority, has only two employees to handle the massive volume of paperwork. Before any refund can be processed, all the documents submitted by the claimants have to be verified. This is a time-consuming process, and with skeletal staff, it's no wonder that things are not moving as it supposed to move.
Adding to the woes are legal hurdles. While special courts have directed the auction of properties belonging to 26 companies, four of them have challenged these orders in the High Court. Out of the remaining 22, only three companies' properties have been successfully auctioned. This has slowed down the process of generating funds for refunds. As many of the victims were small-time investors, daily wage earners, and people from marginalized communities who invested their hard-earned money in these schemes. For them, it has become a nightmare with sleepless nights.
The plight of the chit-fund victims in Odisha is a stark reminder of how a system, how a system can fail with a catch twenty two situation. While the government has taken steps to address the issue, the slow pace of refunds raises serious questions. Is justice delayed, justice denied? This is the case with the chit funds investors waiting for their refunds.
