The government has taken a set of decisions for members of the village police, including higher pay and allowances and maternity leave. It has also introduced a monthly mobile allowance, shortened the wait for a bicycle and given women members six months’ maternity leave on full pay.
To put these benefits into effect, the Local Government Division issued four separate circulars and a letter of consent on Monday. The circulars were issued by the division’s Union Parishad-2 branch and signed by Atiful Islam, senior assistant secretary of the Local Government Division.
Under the new decision, the monthly pay of a village police chief (dafadar) has been raised from Tk 10,500 to Tk 11,000, and that of an ordinary village police member (mahalladar) from Tk 10,000 to Tk 10,500.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman announced these benefits at a rally of the village police force at the National Parade Ground in the capital on Saturday. Administrative steps have now been taken to implement that announcement.
Pay rise for 46,000 village police
The Local Government Division’s circular says 4,578 village police chiefs and 41,292 ordinary village police members currently serve in the country’s 4,578 union parishads. In all, 45,870 members of the village police will get the higher pay.
Under the rules, the government pays 50 percent of village police pay and allowances and the union parishad concerned pays the other 50 percent from its own income. The government will bear the whole of the new Tk 500 monthly increase. This will need funds released beyond the existing government allocation, and the Local Government Division has sought the consent of the Finance Division of the finance ministry.
Tk 200 a month for mobile phones
To help members of the village police do their work, a new monthly mobile allowance of Tk 200 is being introduced. The government will pay Tk 100 and the union parishad concerned the other Tk 100 from its own income.
A letter from the Local Government Division to the Finance Division says village police members play an important role in maintaining law and order, preventing crime and providing emergency communication during disasters at union level. On duty they have to stay in regular contact with the police station and the union parishad, it says.
A bicycle every three years
The government has also shortened the period after which village police members get a bicycle. Previously they were eligible for one bicycle every five years; under the new decision they can get one every three years.
The circular says the eligibility of village police chiefs and ordinary members serving in union parishads for bicycles has been reset as part of implementing the benefits the prime minister announced.
A circular issued on 2 February 2026 had set the rules for bicycles and other equipment. The new circular changes only the period for bicycles; the other conditions and entitlements to equipment remain as before.
Six months’ maternity leave
The government has provided six months’ maternity leave on full pay for women members of the village police. Under the new circular, when a woman member applies for maternity leave, she must be granted six months’ leave on full pay in line with existing rules.
It says the government’s and the union parishad’s shares of her monthly pay and allowances must be paid as usual while she is on maternity leave.
The Local Government Division’s circular says women members of the village police are working with dedication and responsibility to maintain law and order and provide various public services at union level. The maternity leave decision was taken as part of the government’s support for the welfare and families of these women working at the grassroots, it says.
All upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) and union parishad chairmen have been asked to take the necessary steps to implement the decision.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report