Two New Administrative Divisions, Faridpur and Cumilla, Proposed Amid Debate on Necessity

The government is set to form two new administrative divisions, Faridpur and Cumilla, following recommendations from the Public Administration Reform Commission, bringing the total number of divisions to 10.

This decision was made at a high-level administrative reform committee meeting on September 8, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid.

The proposed Faridpur division will comprise the districts of Faridpur, Madaripur, Rajbari, Gopalganj, and Shariatpur, while the proposed Cumilla division will include Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Chandpur, Feni, Laxmipur, and Noakhali.

The committee also decided to create two new upazilas: Bangra in Cumilla, formed by splitting Muradnagar Upazila, and Fatikchhari North in Chattogram, formed by dividing the existing Fatikchhari Upazila.

The proposals follow the Public Administration Reform Commission’s recommendations made in February 2023. However, some current and former senior officials have criticized the move, stating that modern communication technologies make the creation of new divisions unnecessary and would only increase public expenditure.

They argue that divisional administration effectively monitors district and upazila activities from existing divisions, and expanding administrative divisions is irrational in today’s context.

Currently, Bangladesh has eight administrative divisions: Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Mymensingh. The final approval of the new divisions will be made by the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reforms (NICAR), chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in a meeting expected in early October.