The government has increased the honorarium allowances for circle chiefs, headmen and karbaris involved in land administration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The decision was announced in a notification issued by the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs on Monday, which said the revised rates would take effect immediately.
Under the new structure, circle chiefs, commonly known as rajas, will receive Tk 20,000 per month, while mouza chiefs or headmen will get Tk 2,000 and karbaris or para chiefs Tk1,000 as monthly honoraria.
Previously, circle chiefs were paid Tk 5,000 per month, headmen Tk1,000 and karbaris Tk500.
The notification said no additional budget allocation would be required, as the increased honoraria would be managed within the existing resource ceiling by the relevant authorities.
According to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation of 1900, the region is divided into three circles — Chakma, Bohmong and Mong covering a total of 376 mouzas with one headman each, and around four and a half thousand karbaris serving across different paras.
Officials said the revised rates would lead to an estimated additional annual expenditure of about Tk7.753 million from the government treasury.
