Village courts to become active, village police to return

Child marriage, drug abuse and trafficking, and online gambling have spread like epidemics across remote rural areas. The government wants to strengthen village courts to address these three social ‘ailments.’

To this end, the designations of ‘dafadar’ and ‘mahalladar’ are being changed to ‘Village Police.’ Like other government forces, they will also have a designated ‘logo.’ Their salaries and gratuity allowances will be increased as well.

In addition, two more female mahalladars and dafadars, or Village Police personnel, will be appointed to each Union Parishad, bringing the total to 9,176. The ‘Gram Sarkar’ system, modeled by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, is also being reintroduced after a long hiatus.

Through these initiatives, the government aims to resolve all kinds of problems and crises within villages themselves. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman may announce these measures at the Village Police grand rally scheduled for November 7 at the National Parade Ground in Tejgaon, Dhaka. This indication emerged from discussions with officials concerned at the Local Government Division.

Asked about the matter, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam told Agamir Somoy, ‘A grand rally of Village Police personnel will be held in the capital on November 7, National Revolution and Solidarity Day. Around 50,000 Village Police personnel from across the country will participate. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend as the chief guest. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will be the special guest. The Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Dr. Abdul Moin Khan, will preside over the event. The head of government will listen to the Village Police personnel there. If they raise any new demands, those may also be considered. After hearing their demands, the government may announce measures to implement them as far as possible within its capacity.’

It is learned that a Union Parishad generally has 10 Village Police personnel, including one dafadar and nine mahalladars. The dafadar serves as the team leader of the mahalladars.

Their responsibilities include maintaining law and order in rural areas, arranging patrols in villages and neighborhoods, and assisting police in preventing crime. Accordingly, there are 45,880 Village Police personnel in 4,588 Union Parishads across the country.

In July last year, the monthly salary and allowances of dafadars were increased from Tk 7,000 to Tk 8,000. Those of mahalladars were raised from Tk 6,500 to Tk 7,500.

Their retirement or death gratuity allowances were also increased. For dafadars, the amount was raised from Tk 60,000 to Tk 80,000, while for mahalladars it increased from Tk 50,000 to Tk 70,000. The government and Union Parishad share the payments equally at a 50:50 ratio.