Chhattisgarh chit fund companies dupe people of Rs 45 cr

Unregulated chit fund companies working in Chhattisgarh had duped people of Rs 45 crore while the authorities could manage to recover money from only one firm out of 25 under the scanner.

"The state government had received complaint against 75 chit fund companies and police had taken action against 25 companies for duping people," state's home minister Ramsevak Paikra said in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly today. The companies had duped people of Rs 44,84,81,201, he said while replying to a question raised by Congress member Motilal Dewangan.

The minister said following the police action, one of the firms HBN Company returned about Rs 10 crore collected from the people.

"After receiving the complaints of duping, the state government constituted special committee at the district level and examined the matter," Paikra said, adding that after the investigation, offences were registered against 25 companies.The opposition Congress grilled the state government on the issue and said how 75 chit fund companies were working in Chhattisgarh without any proper guidelines or norms. They alleged that the companies that fled away with the hard earned money of local people were not registered in the state.

Paikra informed in the House that the state did not have any Act that could keep tab on the non banking financial institutions working without regulation in the state. "In 2013, the bill related to action against such institutions was passed in the legislative assembly and had been sent to the President for its nod and giving shape of an Act," he said.

The bill had been awaiting President's consent, Paikra added. Once the law was enacted, it would facilitate to take stringent action against chit fund companies, the minister said. The Act would also help in regularizing the non banking financial institutions in the state.

Congress legislator Amit Ajit Jogi alleged that the state government had been protecting the chit fund companies.

"Had the state government been serious to take action against the companies, it would have brought ordinance to regulate the companies that had duped millions ofpeople," he added.