Bhubaneswar: Fulfilling a key election promise, the Odisha government will ensure refunds to all victims of the multicrore chit fund scam, confirmed state BJP president Manmohan Samal on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference, Samal said the process will be executed in phases. The state government will refund the money to 5 lakh depositors in next 3-4 months. He emphasized that both small and large eligible investors will receive the money, as pledged in the BJP’s poll manifesto.

“The BJP government is committed to justice for all chit fund victims. The chit fund commission’s report will be verified, and the refund process will be transparent,” Samal added.

He also took a dig at the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government, alleging its involvement in the massive scam. “In the past 15 years, 174 chit fund companies defrauded millions. This happened under the BJD’s watch, involving the then Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs, and MPs. Although a commission and corpus fund were formed following Supreme Court intervention, the report was never made public and the fund never became operational,” he alleged.

Responding to the accusations, BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra defended his party's efforts, stating, “The previous government took significant steps to support the victims. The current government’s ability to refund is built on the process initiated during our tenure.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has announced that the government aims to refund an additional 5 lakh small depositors within the next three to four months. In the past year alone, Rs 47.07 crore has been returned to 1,27,137 depositors.

“The refund process has been simplified and decentralized to the district level to ensure faster and easier disbursement,” the CMO said in a statement.