Is Dhaka city becoming one city corporation again

The government is considering reunifying Dhaka’s two city corporations to improve cost efficiency, reduce administrative complications and address what some politicians describe as a controversial decision of the previous Awami League government, sources said.

The ruling BNP leaders said the government is examining whether Dhaka’s divided city corporations should be reunified now or at a later stage considering several matters.

The issue is also being considered in the context of the upcoming local government elections, with the ruling party assessing whether a unified or divided city corporation would be more favourable to its candidates.

The Local Government Reform Commission, formed during the interim government, had recommended reunifying the city corporations. The BNP government is now reviewing the recommendation and weighing different aspects of the proposal, sources said.

Dhaka City Corporation was split into Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on November 29, 2011. The then government said the move would speed up administrative activities and improve urban services.

The then opposition BNP, however, alleged that the division was aimed at removing the elected mayor of the Dhaka City Corporation, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, from office.

Which Urban Planners Say

Urban experts have also questioned the effectiveness of having two city corporations in the capital.

Professor Dr Adil Mohammed Khan, of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Jahangirnagar University and president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, told Asia Post that dividing Dhaka into two separate city authorities was “totally illogical”.

“It brings no relief to city dwellers in terms of services, benefits or amenities. There are no examples of such a move to divide a city between two separate authorities,” he said.

The urban planner said stakeholders, including city residents, had experienced considerable mismanagement since Dhaka was divided into two corporations.

The division has also increased the government’s expenditure, as maintaining two large corporations requires separate manpower, logistics and administrative arrangements, he said.

In Politicians Views

A section of politicians also supports reunifying the city under a single corporation.

BNP Vice-Chairman Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon told Asia Post that dividing the capital into two corporations was an example of the “autocratic” policies of the previous Awami League government.

“She never considered the people’s aspirations on this issue. She only implemented her own whim,” he said.

Ripon, who is also an aspirant for the Dhaka city mayoral election, said reunifying Dhaka under a single governing body would be a rational move and reflected the desire of city residents.

“If anyone thinks two city corporations are good for Dhaka, then he or she may as well say Hasina was good for Bangladesh and that ousting her from power through the mass uprising was wrong,” he said.

BNP Chairman’s Advisory Council Member and DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam told Asia Post that the previous government divided Dhaka to prevent the BNP from retaining the mayoral position.

He said the BNP government might reunify Dhaka under a single authority, but “perhaps not right now”, adding that the process could take more time.

Jamaat-e-Islami Joint Secretary General and party spokesperson Advocate Ahsanul Mahbub Zubair told Asia Post that reunifying the two corporations would be a major undertaking.

“Any decision on the issue should be taken solely in the interest of the people,” he said.

“There are currently two separate city corporations functioning in Dhaka. Reunifying them will be a huge task. If the government wants to do so, our party will give its opinion after discussing the matter in its forum,” the Jamaat leader said.

He noted that cities such as New York, London and Istanbul have separate administrative bodies but operate under a single mayoral structure.

Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna, however, offered a different view.

Speaking to Asia Post, the veteran politician and former Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) vice-president (VP) said people had become accustomed to the existing two-corporation system.

“It does not matter who introduced the system. People have now accepted it and seem to have no problem with it,” he said.

Reform commission recommendation

The Local Government Reform Commission also recommended reunifying Dhaka’s city corporations. The commission, headed by local government expert Dr Tofail Ahmed, submitted its recommendations to interim government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on April 20, 2025.

The commission recommended forming 20 city councils, each comprising nine to 15 wards, while placing all the city councils under a single Dhaka city mayor.

Nearly 15 years after the division, the government, politicians and urban experts are once again debating whether Dhaka should have one governing body or two.

The debate is not solely about the political motives behind the 2011 decision. Proponents of reunification cite administrative efficiency, service delivery and financial considerations as additional reasons.

Politicians and urban experts said the two corporations have failed to provide adequate services to city residents.

They also pointed to the higher costs associated with maintaining two separate mayors, workforces, offices, vehicles, equipment and other logistics.

The government also incurs additional costs in supervising and coordinating the two corporations, they said.

Budgetary burden

According to the corporations’ announced budgets, the DSCC has allocated Tk4,004.60 crore for the 2026-27 fiscal year, down from Tk6,760.74 crore in 2024-25.

The DNCC has announced a budget of Tk4,527.74 crore for 2026-27, compared with Tk6,069.95 crore in the previous fiscal year.

By comparison, the final budget of the unified Dhaka City Corporation for fiscal 2011-12 was Tk2,715 crore.

Experts argue that running two corporations requires additional administrative and operational expenditure, although the budgets of the two bodies cannot be directly compared with the budget of the former unified corporation because the scope of responsibilities, revenue sources and fiscal structures have changed over time.

Political calculations

Political considerations are also playing a role in the debate.

BNP insiders said the party’s top leadership is assessing the likely outcome of the upcoming city corporation elections.

BNP insiders said, Jamaat and its alliance partners won nearly half of the Dhaka city’s seat in the last Parliamentary polls. Beyond their winning seats they got notable numbers of vote in the other constituencies in the city.

It will be taken in the calculation in these regards.

They believe cooperation among opposition parties could affect the BNP candidates’ prospects. Some BNP leaders are particularly concerned that if Jamaat-e-Islami succeeds in winning the mayoral position in either of the two corporations, it could create a major political challenge for the ruling party.

The BNP leadership is therefore analysing whether maintaining the two corporations or reunifying them would improve its chances in the mayoral elections, party insiders said.

If the party concludes that the existing structure is more favourable to its candidates, it may retain the two-corporation system for now. If reunification is considered politically advantageous, the government could initiate steps towards merging the two corporations, they added.