About District
Lawngtlai District is situated in the southernmost part of the state of Mizoram. It was declared district on 18th September, 1998. It was previously under Chhimtuipui District. It has its distinct feature for housing one of the highest minority population concentrated areas in India in the western belt of the district. The district is cut-off by Lunglei District and Siaha District into two parts. The eastern part is located in the eastern side of Chhimtuipui River, the biggest river in the state and it comprises Sangau Sub-Division. The western part comprises Lawngtlai Sub-Division (Sadar) and Chawngte Sub-Division. The civil administration is taken up by Deputy Commissioner, assisted by one Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), three Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) and four Sub-Deputy Commissioners (SDCs). The administrative sub-division of the district consists of Sangau, Chawngte and Lawngtlai (Sadar) Sub-Divisions.
The major landmarks in the District are Phawngpui, the tallest mountain in the State, Phawngpui National Park and Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary. Standing at a height of 2,157 m above mean sea level, Phawngpui mountain is one of the most popular tourist spots in the District and is located at a distance of approximately 165 km from Lawngtlai Town. Phawngpui mountain along with the surrounding reserve forest makes up the Phawngpui National Park covering an area of approximately 50 sq. kms. The National Park is the natural home of a wide range of bird life including the state bird Mrs. Hume’s pheasant, the rare Blyth’s tragopan and falcon and also rare animals such as the state animal serow, mountain goat, slow loris, Asiatic black bear, etc. The slopes of the mountain are covered by orchids and rhododendrons. In fact, Sentetfiang, which is a small village located at the foot of Phawngpui mountain, hosted the first ever Rhododendron Festival (or Chokhlei Kut in the Lai language) in Mizoram in March, 2018. The District is also home to Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread over an area of approximately 110 sq. km and is located at approximately 40 km from Lawngtlai Town. Virgin sub-tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests are found in the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is also home to a rich variety of flora and fauna.
Economically, Lawngtlai District is one of the most backward districts of the state. About 60% of the total population depends on agriculture and allied sector, 37.90% on service sector and 2.4% on secondary sector. About 37.54% of the total households are BPL. Literacy rate of the District (66.41%) is the lowest in the state. The Lai Autonomous District Council takes up the Education sector within the District upto Elementary level and in addition to the general subjects taught at other schools, the schools within Lawngtlai District have Laica as a subject upto Middle School (8th standard) to study and better understand the Lai language.