NEW DELHI: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced a Rs 500 increase in the monthly honorarium for priests and muezzins in West Bengal, hours before the Election Commission is scheduled to announce the poll dates for assembly elections in four poll bound states and the Union Territory of Puducherry. She also announced the approval of all fresh applications by the AITC led state government.The announcement came ahead of the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, which comes into effect once the election schedule is declared and which will bar governments from making new policy announcements or financial commitments that could influence voters.
In a post on X, Banerjee said the state government had decided to increase the monthly honorarium for priests (purohits) and muezzins by Rs 500.“I am pleased to announce an increase of Rs 500 in the monthly honorariums extended to our purohits and muezzins, whose service sustains the spiritual and social life of our communities. With this revision, they will now receive Rs 2,000 per month.
Poll
Do you believe the timing of the honorarium increase is influenced by the upcoming elections?
At the same time, all fresh applications that have been duly submitted by purohits and muezzins have also been approved by the State Government”, the West Bengal CM wrote in a post on X.With the revision, the monthly payment for both groups will increase to Rs 2,000. The chief minister further added that all new applications submitted by priests and muezzins seeking the honorarium have been approved by the state government.Banerjee said the move reflects the government’s commitment to recognising the role played by religious functionaries in society.“We take pride in nurturing an environment where every community and every tradition is valued and strengthened,” she wrote, adding that the government’s endeavour is to ensure that those who safeguard the state’s spiritual traditions receive due recognition and support”, she wrote.Mamata Banerjee also announced in a separate post that the West Bengal government will begin disbursing pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears under ROPA 2009 to employees and pensioners from March 2026.In a post on X, the West Bengal chief minister said the decision fulfils a commitment made by the state government to its employees as well as staff of educational and other grant-in-aid institutions.“I am happy to announce that our Ma-Mati-Manush government has delivered on its promise to all its employees and pensioners, and to lakhs of teachers and non-teaching staff of our educational institutions, as well as employees/pensioners of our other grant-in-aid institutions like panchayats, municipal bodies, other local bodies etc,” she wrote.She added that the payments will begin from next month in line with the modalities notified by the state finance department.“They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed out in the Notifications issued by our Finance Department.”The announcements came shortly before the poll panel, led by chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and comprising election commissioners Sukbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, is expected to announce the schedule for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry at a press conference in New Delhi at 4 pm.
