86,709 religious institutions to receive state stipends
In the 2026-27 fiscal year, 87,309 religious institutions are listed for state stipend benefits, including 82,656 mosques, 3,000 temples, 752 Buddhist monasteries and 301 churches. A total of 256,074 religious leaders will be covered, and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the programme this month.
The decision was made at a meeting of a cell created to introduce monthly stipends and training-based welfare for imams, muezzins, khadims and other religious workers. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister’s public-administration adviser and cell chairman Md Ismail Jabiullah.
Fifteen mosques will be selected from each union; municipal wards will receive 4, 3 or 2 mosques according to A, B or C classification, and each city-corporation ward will receive 6. Five temples will be selected from each upazila, with 2 from each A-class municipal ward and 1 from other classes; remaining temples will be selected at union level. Buddhist monasteries and churches will be selected at a district-based rate of 25%.
Each selected mosque imam, temple priest, Buddhist monastery head and church priest receives Tk5,000 monthly; muezzins, temple sebayets, monastery deputies and assistant priests receive Tk3,000; mosque khadims receive Tk2,000. Payments are made by EFT to beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
The budget allocates Tk1,100 crore for the programme, which will cover about one-quarter of religious institutions this year and all institutions over the next three fiscal years. A 2025-26 pilot gave stipends to 13,949 workers at 6,017 institutions.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report