The Uttar Pradesh government is set to raise the monthly honorarium of approximately 60,000 village watchmen, locally known as gram praharis, by ₹1,000, effective 13 October 2026. The hike will lift their monthly pay from ₹2,500 to ₹3,500 — a 40 per cent increase — and deliver an additional ₹12,000 per watchman annually.

CM Yogi to make the announcement in Bareilly

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to formally announce the decision at an event at the Bareilly Police Lines on 13 October, where he is also scheduled to felicitate serving gram praharis. The Bareilly event underscores the state government's effort to put a public face on what is otherwise a budgetary decision for a largely invisible workforce.

Who are gram praharis and why they matter

Village watchmen are attached to local police stations across the state and serve as an informal first line of intelligence in rural areas. They relay information about suspicious activities, local disputes, and law-and-order concerns to the police, and maintain the communication bridge between villages and police stations. Despite their role in rural policing, their compensation has long lagged behind comparable categories of state-supported workers. The proposed hike comes after the watchmen had reportedly been demanding a revision for an extended period.

Fiscal impact and funding

With 60,000 gram praharis across the state, the enhanced honorarium is expected to impose an additional financial burden of approximately ₹7 crore per month and ₹84 crore annually on the state exchequer. Funds for the increase are likely to be provided through a supplementary budget, according to reports.

Part of a broader welfare revision push

This increase is part of a series of honorarium hikes the Yogi Adityanath government has undertaken in recent months. The monthly honorarium of around 3.53 lakh midday meal cooks in government-run basic education schools was raised from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000. Anganwadi workers received a ₹4,000 per month increase, while Anganwadi helpers got ₹2,000 per month more. The honorarium of over 57,000 panchayat assistants was raised from ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 per month, and the daily allowance of Provincial Guards (Prantiya Rakshak Dal) volunteers was increased from ₹500 to ₹600.

Separately, the state government is also reportedly considering raising monthly pensions for senior citizens, destitute women, and persons with disabilities from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500. That proposal has received in-principle approval from Chief Minister Adityanath and is likely to be placed before the state Cabinet in the second half of November. The schemes currently cover more than 67 lakh senior citizens, 42 lakh destitute women, and 12 lakh persons with disabilities — each of whom would receive an additional ₹6,000 annually if the proposal is cleared.

The pattern of rolling honorarium revisions signals a pre-election posture familiar in UP politics, with the government steadily expanding financial relief to categories of workers and beneficiaries who sit outside the formal employment net.