Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) is one of the three Autonomous District Councils in Mizoram state in North-east India. It is an Autonomous District Council for ethnic Lai people earlier known as Pawi, living in South-eastern Mizoram bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh. has its headquarters at Lawngtlai town, which is the District Capital of Lawngtlai District. Lawngtlai District has a populati
on of 75,477 persons according to Mizoram Statistical Handbook 2003. The other two Autonomous District Councils in Mizoram are Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) to the south and Chakma Autonomous District Council to the west.Thus the three ADCs filled one third of Mizoram in the Southern part of the state. The Lai Autonomous District Council occupies a strategic position in Mizoram, located in the Southern most corner of the state. It shares its political border with the erstwhile Burma (Myanmar) and MADC, the west by CADC, in the north Lunglei Administrative District and in the south by Myanmar. The Lai Autonomous District Council covers an area of 1870.75 sq. km with a population of 73,620 as on April 2008 and its density is 39 persons per sq. The whole/entire population belonged to Schedule Tribes. The Lai Autonomous District Council was constituted on 29 April 1972 under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The council is a replication of the State Legislative Assembly. It exercises power over specifically allocated subjects. At present it looks after 18 subjects departments. The Lai Autonomous District Council has also the power to determine language and in the manner in which education should be imparted in the Primary Schools within its jurisdiction. The council has a separate set of laws governing the area, it has the power to make laws as provided under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The people of Lai Autonomous District Council area enjoyed special safeguard granted by Article 371-9 of the Constitution of India. The headquarters of the council is situated at Lawngtlai which is also the headquarters of Lawngtlai Administrative District. It is well connected by the NH-54 and is 296 km away from the state capital Aizawl. The Lai Assembly of the Lai Autonomous District Council has a total strength of 27 Members, out of which 23 are directly elected by the people and 4 members are nominated by the Governor on the recommendation of the Chief Executive Member of the Lai Autonomous District Council. The power and functions of the Council is mainly three viz., Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. It has a chairman to conduct the business of the Council in session and presided over its meeting. The executive functions of the Council are vested in the Executive Committee headed by the Chief Executive Member. The Executive Committee can dispose of all matters falling within its purview. Each Member of the executive is allocated specifies subject for which a member of the committee is collectively responsible for all executive orders issued in the name of Council. The main occupation of the people of Lai Autonomous District Council is Agriculture (the backbone of its economy) having Rice as its staple food, other crops like ginger, sesame, banana, chili, tilt, pine-apple, orange, mango, etc are also cultivated. The Council also possesses rich natural resources of self-generating bamboo forest as well as thick tropical forest. The highest mountain in the state of Mizoram known as ‘The Blue Mountain’ or ‘Phawngpui’ with its Phawngpui National Park and Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary are located within the Lai Autonomous District Council area. The peculiarity feature of these two places came to be known as ‘Vavu’ the state ‘Bird’ of Mizoram found only within the Phawngpui National Park with varieties of flora and fauna. Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary, the only Sanctuary in the State possessing elephant is also located within the Lai Autonomous District Council jurisdiction.
