The government on Monday approved the creation of three new upazilas -- ‘Eidgaon’ in Cox’s Bazar, ‘Modhyanagar’ in Sunamganj and ‘Dashar’ in Madaripur -- raising the number of the upazilas to 495 in the country in a bid to ensure balanced development in those remote areas.

The approval came from a meeting of the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reform (NICAR), held virtually.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining it from Ganobhaban, while others from the Secretariat.

“The structures of the three new upazilas will be like that of the latest upazila (492nd Upazila),” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meetings of the Cabinet and NICAR.

Besides, Dakkhin Sunamganj upazila was renamed as ‘Shantiganj Upazila’, he said.

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At the NICAR meeting, the Sylhet City Corporation area was extended and thus Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and other some big establishments came under the purview of the city, he said.

Besides, changes have been brought in the peripheries of two municipalities – ‘Dohar’ in Dhaka and ‘Shibchar’ in Madaripur, the Cabinet Secretary added.

Describing the rationale behind the formation of three new upazilas, he said Eidgaon is a very remote place as it is 40 km away from Cox’s Bazar Sadar and it needed upgradation.

Modhyanagar Upazila was created by splitting Dharmapasha upazila as Modhyanagar is an isolated place due to Haor, which is some 25 km away from Dharmapasha, he said adding that Dashar is also very remote place in Kalkini Upazila of Madaripur. “That’s why all those areas needed to be integrated.”

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Meanwhile, the Cabinet gave the final approval to the draft of the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 with a provision of allowing the government to form an ad-hoc committee for a maximum one-year tenure to arrange the Bar Council election in an unusual situation.

“If the regular Bar Council election can’t be held by May 31 after every three years, the government can form a 15-member ad-hoc committee for a maximum one year,” Khandker Anwarul Islam said while talking about the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

He said the Law Ministry placed the proposed law as the deadline for the Bar Council election expired on May 31 last amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the existing Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Order, 1972, there is no alternative provision, if the regular election cannot be arranged in time due to any natural disaster or something else like ‘acts of God’, he said.

The meeting rejected a proposal for bringing amendments to the Government Services Act, 2018.

Besides, the cabinet cancelled its previous decision over the approval of the draft of an agreement on certain aspects of air services, which was supposed to be signed between Bangladesh and European Union.