Proposal to form five new upazilas in four districts

The government has proposed the creation of five new upazilas in four districts as part of efforts to strengthen administrative structures and make public services more citizen-friendly.

The proposals are set to be placed at the 120th meeting of the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganisation (NICAR), scheduled to be held on Thursday.

If approved at the meeting, which is expected to be chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat in the afternoon, the total number of upazilas in the country will rise to 500.

The proposed new upazilas are located in Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Thakurgaon and Lakshmipur districts.

Under the proposal, Chakaria upazila in Cox’s Bazar will be divided to create a new upazila named “Matamuhuri”. In Bogura, Shibganj upazila will be split to form “Mokamtola” upazila. In Thakurgaon, Sadar upazila will be divided into two separate upazilas named “Ruhia” and “Bhully”. In Lakshmipur, a new upazila named “Chandraganj” will be created by splitting the Sadar upazila.

According to district administration reports, the restructuring initiative has been taken considering geographical realities and population distribution to bring administrative services closer to people’s doorstep.

Meanwhile, the proposal to upgrade Bogura municipality into a city corporation is also expected to be a key agenda of the NICAR meeting. The Local Government Division has said Bogura meets all required conditions in terms of area, population and infrastructure capacity.

A pre-NICAR committee has already recommended the proposal unanimously. If approved, Bogura will become the 13th city corporation in Bangladesh, marking a significant administrative upgrade for the northern district.

Currently, the country has 12 city corporations and 495 upazilas.