Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday announced higher salaries, increased retirement benefits, mobile phone allowances and other facilities for members of the Village Police Force, alongside plans to recruit two additional women village police members in every union across the country.
He made the announcements while addressing a national gathering of around 41,000 village police members at the National Parade Ground in Tejgaon, Dhaka.
The Prime Minister said the monthly salary of a village police member had been increased from Tk7,500 to Tk10,500, while that of a village police chief had been raised from Tk8,000 to Tk11,000.
Retirement gratuity has also been increased. Village police members will now receive Tk80,000, up from Tk70,000, while village police chiefs will get Tk1 lakh instead of Tk80,000.
Each village police member will also receive Tk150 a month as a mobile phone allowance. The weekly allowance for attending the local police station has been raised from Tk300 to Tk500 for members and from Tk300 to Tk600 for village police chiefs.
Tarique also announced six months of maternity leave for women members of the force and said two additional women would be recruited in every union to promote women’s empowerment and employment.
He said the government had also changed the professional designations of village police, replacing ‘Dafadar’ with ‘Gram Police Chief’ and ‘Mahalladar’ with ‘Gram Police’.
The Prime Minister said the measures were aimed at improving the living standards of village police members and their families in recognition of their contribution to maintaining security at the grassroots level.
He recalled that the government of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had introduced Eid bonuses for village police members in 1995.
The government also plans to name one road in every union ‘Gram Police Road’. Trees will be planted along these roads, and once the grass grown there is ready for sale, the proceeds will be distributed among village police members of the respective unions.
Tarique also instructed the Ministry of Local Government to consider reducing the interval for providing bicycles to village police members from five years to between three and three-and-a-half years.
Urging village police members to play a more active role in maintaining public safety, he said their close ties with local communities often allowed them to receive early information about incidents, criminal activities and potential threats.
He said they should maintain regular contact with local administration and law enforcement agencies and promptly share information about any emerging situation.
“If every village and every union in the country remains safe, Bangladesh will remain safe,” the Prime Minister said.
He noted that most Bangladeshis had their roots in rural communities and that the country’s history, heritage, culture and economy were closely connected to village life. Ensuring peace, security and normalcy in rural areas was therefore essential to building a developed and prosperous Bangladesh, he said.
Tarique also stressed the importance of restoring social values, harmony, mutual respect and compassion to help reduce crime, alongside the efforts of law enforcement agencies.
He urged village police members to perform their duties impartially and in a people-friendly manner, maintaining coordination with local administration and responsible citizens.
The Prime Minister praised their contributions during natural disasters, floods, cyclones, fires and other emergencies, often in coordination with local administration.
He also asked them to help keep their surroundings, including homes, markets, roads and canal banks, clean and free of waste. Encouraging tree plantation, he urged them to motivate others to help create a greener and cleaner environment for future generations.
At the programme, Tarique handed over crests and prize money to eight outstanding village police members, one from each of the country’s eight divisions.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam and Local Government Division Senior Secretary Md Shahidul Hasan also addressed the gathering.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, who is vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, cabinet members, MPs, the army chief, the air chief and senior government officials were also present.
Around 41,000 village police members from different districts and upazilas attended the gathering at the National Parade Ground.
