Bangladesh Gets Its 500th Upazila as Govt Issues Official Gazette

The total number of upazilas (sub-districts) in Bangladesh has officially reached 500 following the formal creation of a new administrative unit named "Chandraganj" in the Laxmipur district. The administrative transformation was finalized through a government decree published in an additional issue of the Bangladesh Gazette on Thursday, June 4.

According to the issued gazette, the structural layout of the new sub-district was drawn up based on an official approval from the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganization (NICAR). The administrative territory of Chandraganj has been carved out of the existing Laxmipur Sadar Upazila, absorbing a cluster of nine distinct unions to form its independent jurisdiction.

The official gazette explicitly noted that this major administrative restructuring was executed to expand local governance facilities, alleviate severe population pressures on existing sub-district centers, and inject greater momentum into grassroots-level state development projects.

The newly established Chandraganj Upazila will exercise administrative control over nine localized unions that previously operated under the central Laxmipur Sadar jurisdiction. These designated unions include:

Bashikpur, Duttapara, Uttar Joypur, Chandraganj, Hajirpara, Charshahi, Dighli, Mandari, and Kushakhali.

The newly consolidated sub-district administration will function through the coordinated framework of these specific unions. The official government order stated that pursuant to relevant statutory laws and administrative rules, the demarcation of boundaries, setup of the organizational framework, appointment of administrative officers and staff, and all other incidental operational activities will be completed in a phased manner.

Correspondingly, necessary measures will be executed by the state to rapidly establish essential physical infrastructure, including the dedicated Upazila Parishad complex, the Office of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), a centralized police station, and a comprehensive upazila health complex.

Commenting on the structural expansion, senior officials from the Local Government Division stated that the formation of Chandraganj will greatly streamline the planning and direct execution of development initiatives at the local level.

They emphasized that bringing the administrative core closer to the residents will simultaneously reduce both the time and expenses incurred by general citizens trying to access essential government services. Officials further anticipated that the decentralization would bring a noticeable dynamism to day-to-day administrative operations while triggering a wider expansion of local rural economic activities.

The establishment of Chandraganj marks a continuing push toward micro-level administrative expansion in the country. Prior to this singular gazette publication, the government had simultaneously approved the creation of five new sub-districts across multiple regions to optimize public services.

That recent collective expansion included the formation of Mokamtala carved from Bogra's Shibganj Upazila; Matamuhuri separated from Cox's Bazar's Chakaria Upazila; and both Ruhia and Bhulli detached from the Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila pool, alongside the final independent crystallization of Chandraganj in Laxmipur.