Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to inaugurate a landmark government initiative on March 14 to provide monthly allowances to imams, muezzins, and religious leaders of all faiths across the country.
The announcement was made today by the Prime Minister’s Adviser for Public Administration Md. Ismail Zabiullah, during a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The programme fulfills a core election pledge of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to strengthen social and religious harmony through a welfare-based system for religious leaders.
It follows other flagship commitments already in motion, such as the Family Card and Farmer’s Card initiatives.
The scheme will initially launch as a pilot project covering 4,908 mosques, 990 temples, 144 Buddhist monasteries and 396 churches, ensuring representation from every union and upazila.
Under the pilot structure, the monthly allowances are fixed as follows:
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Mosques: BDT 5,000 for Imams, BDT 3,000 for Muezzins, and BDT 2,000 for Khadems.
Temples/Monasteries/Churches: BDT 5,000 for the head priest or monk and BDT 3,000 for the assistant or caretaker.
In addition to the monthly honorarium, the government has designated festival allowances. Imams, muezzins, and khadems will receive BDT 1,000 each during both Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.
Similarly, priests, monks, and church leaders will receive BDT 2,000 each during Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima and Christmas.Adviser Zabiullah confirmed that BDT 27.13 crore has been allocated for the current fiscal year to implement this phase.
To ensure transparency and eliminate the possibility of corruption, all payments will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries' bank accounts via Sonali Bank by March 15.
"This system leaves no scope for corruption," Zabiullah emphasized, noting that the pilot will be evaluated before a wider national rollout.
