Published : 10 Aug 2026, 08:38 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
More than 86,000 religious institutions will come under a state honorarium scheme this fiscal year.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs said on Monday that 86,709 institutions will benefit, comprising 82,656 mosques, 3,000 temples, 752 Buddhist temples and 301 churches.
The ministry said 256,074 religious leaders serving at these institutions will fall under the state benefit, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman set to formally launch the scheme later this month.
The decision followed a recent meeting of a cell tasked with implementing the government's election manifesto pledge: monthly honoraria and training-based welfare measures for Imams, Muazzins, Khadems and others serving at religious institutions.
Md Ismail Zabiullah, the prime minister's public administration advisor and the cell's chairman, presided over the meeting.
State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam; Sariatpur-3 MP and Whip Mia Nur Uddin Ahmed Apu; Gaibandha-4 MP Mohammad Shamim Kaiser; Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad; Social Welfare Secretary Mohammad Abu Yusuf; and other cell members attended the meeting.
According to the ministry, 15 mosques will be selected from each union under the scheme this fiscal year.
In municipalities, four mosques will be picked from each ward in Class A areas, three in Class B, and two in Class C, while city corporations will select six per ward.
Temples will be chosen at five per Upazila, with two from each Class A municipality and one from other classes, with the remainder selected at union level.
Buddhist temples and churches, meanwhile, will be capped at a 25 percent rate by district.
Selected mosque Imams, temple priests, Buddhist chief monks and church pastors will each draw a monthly honorarium of Tk 5,000 under the scheme.
Muazzins, temple caretakers, deputy chief monks and assistant pastors will receive Tk 3,000, while mosque Khadems will get Tk 2,000, with funds transferred directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
The fiscal year's budget has set aside Tk 11 billion for the honoraria.
The ministry said the scheme covers roughly a quarter of the country's religious institutions, with full coverage planned in phases over the next three fiscal years.
A pilot project launched in 2025-26 first extended honoraria to 13,949 individuals, including Imams, Muazzins, Khadems, priests and caretakers, across 6,017 selected institutions nationwide, as part of the manifesto pledge.
Tarique launched the initiative on Mar 14 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.
