Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced on Wednesday that his government would ensure the return of money to depositors who lost their savings when the Urban Cooperative Bank (UCB), Bhubaneswar, ceased operations in 2015.
This decision follows a directive from former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who had instructed officials to refund up to ?1 lakh to each depositor using funds available with the bank’s liquidator.
The Urban Cooperative Bank, which is now defunct, had previously attempted to merge with other banks but was unsuccessful.
According to a state government letter, the remaining requirement of Rs 6.48 crore for refunding depositors up to Rs 1 lakh would be disbursed from the bank’s available funds, as approved by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
Earlier, the cooperative department sought approval from the state government to refund a total of ?15.16 crore to 6,446 affected depositors.