Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has commenced the refund process for depositors of the Bhubaneswar Urban Co-operative Bank, which ceased operations in 2015 due to severe mismanagement.

On Monday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi officially initiated the refund process, with 117 depositors receiving a total of Rs 2.80 crore on the first day, as reported by the Chief Minister's Office.

During a ceremony held at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, Majhi distributed cheques to nine depositors.

He also announced that refunds for depositors from Dhenkanal, Chhatrapur, Aska, and Bhanjanagar Urban Co-operative Banks would follow shortly.

In total, over Rs 6 crore is set to be refunded to 17,859 depositors across these four banks, according to official statements.

The government plans to return Rs 20.96 crore to 9,537 depositors of the Bhubaneswar Urban Co-operative Bank.

While 11,673 depositors were eligible to reclaim Rs 33.87 crore, only about 2,709 smaller depositors, each with less than Rs 1 lakh in their accounts, have received their funds so far.

The current phase of refunds is focused on those who had deposits exceeding Rs 1 lakh in the Bhubaneswar Urban Co-operative Bank.