Dhaka: The government has announced its decision to include 86,709 religious institutions nationwide in the state honorarium allowance programme for the fiscal year 2026-2027. A total of 256,074 religious leaders and service workers affiliated with these institutions are set to benefit from this initiative. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to formally launch the programme later this month, as detailed in a ministry press release today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the decision emerged from a recent meeting of a dedicated cell tasked with implementing monthly honorariums and welfare measures for mosque imams, muezzins, khadems, and personnel at other religious worship centers, aligning with the government's election manifesto. The meeting outlined that the institutions to be included in the honorarium allowance comprise 82,656 mosques, 3,000 temples, 752 Buddhist monasteries, and 301 churches.
Presided over by Prime Minister's Adviser on Public Administration and Chairman of the cell, Md Ismail Jabiullah, the meeting was attended by State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, Member of Parliament from Shariatpur-3 constituency and Whip Mia Nuruddin Ahmed Apu, Member of Parliament from Gaibandha-4 constituency Mohammad Shamim Kaiser, Religious Affairs Secretary Munsi Alauddin Al Azad, Social Welfare Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf, and other concerned members.
The meeting also revealed that 15 mosques from each union will be selected for the programme in the current fiscal year. In addition, four mosques from each ward of 'A' category municipalities, three from each ward of 'B' category municipalities, two from each ward of 'C' category municipalities, and six from each ward of city corporations will be included. For temple selection, five temples from each upazila will be part of the programme, with specific allocations for different municipality categories and additional selections at the union level.
For Buddhist monasteries and churches, the selection will be based on a district-wise rate of 25 percent. Currently, imams, priests, and heads of religious institutions receive a monthly honorarium of Tk 5,000, while muezzins, temple sebayits, and deputy heads receive Tk 3,000, and khadems receive Tk 2,000. These funds are disbursed directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts via the electronic fund transfer (EFT) system.
The government has allocated Tk 1,100 crore for this programme in the current fiscal year, covering about one-fourth of the country's religious places of worship. The plan is to extend the benefit to all religious institutions over the next three fiscal years. Previously, a pilot project in fiscal year 2025-2026 saw 13,949 religious leaders and service workers at 6,017 institutions receive state honorariums for the first time, inaugurated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.