PM to launch monthly allowance scheme for religious leaders on March 14

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate a government programme providing monthly allowances to imams, muezzins and leaders of various religious institutions across Bangladesh on March 14.

The announcement was made on Sunday (March 8) by adviser to the prime minister on public administration affairs Ismail Zabiullah during a briefing at the Ministry of Religious Affairs at the Secretariat.

He said the initiative stems from the election pledge of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to strengthen religious and social harmony by introducing welfare and training-based honorarium programmes for religious leaders of all faiths.

Under an initial pilot project, the government has selected 4,908 mosques—one from each union and municipality. In addition, two temples from each upazila (990 in total), two Buddhist monasteries from 72 upazilas (144 monasteries), and two churches from 198 upazilas (396 churches) have been included in the programme.

According to the plan, each mosque imam will receive Tk5,000 per month, while muezzins will get Tk3,000 and khadems Tk2,000, bringing the total monthly allocation per mosque to Tk10,000.

For other religious institutions, temple priests will receive Tk5,000 and assistants Tk3,000; heads of Buddhist monasteries Tk5,000 and deputies Tk3,000; and church priests Tk5,000 with assistants receiving Tk3,000. Each temple, church and monastery will receive a monthly allocation of Tk8,000.

Festival allowances will also be provided, with Tk1,000 for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, and Tk2,000 for Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima and Christmas.

The government estimates the programme will require Tk27.13 crore in the current fiscal year. Payments will be transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Sonali Bank by March 15 to ensure transparency and prevent irregularities, officials said.