Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Aizawl: Mizoram’s three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) are bleeding cash. The Mara, Lai, and Chakma councils face a combined salary shortfall of 159.59 crore rupees. Leaders from all three bodies are now demanding state government intervention to stop the bleeding. The deficit is staggering. The Lai ADC carries the heaviest burden at 69.93 crore rupees, followed by the Chakma ADC at 63.78 crore, and the Mara ADC at 25.88 crore.
Pay raises fueled this fire. Successive salary revisions, dearness allowance hikes, annual increments, and employee regularizations have swallowed budgets. Over 90 percent of council funds now go to payroll. This leaves almost nothing for development or basic services. Mara ADC CEM M Laikaw highlighted the grim reality for the region. He noted, "More than 90 per cent of the councils’ budgets are now being spent on salaries, leaving limited funds for development and other essential expenditure."
Funding methods changed recently. Before 2024, the state gave separate money for salaries and development. Now, all aid comes under a general head. Council leaders say this shift leaves them exposed. They claim the state ignored Revised Estimates that previously covered gaps. While these three areas hold 16 percent of Mizoram’s population per the 2011 Census, they receive only 4 percent of state funds.
The councils also fight a battle over authority. They claim the state refuses to hand over control of 20 departments entrusted to them back in 1993. Agriculture, Fisheries, Veterinary, and PWD remain under state control despite a 2011 Gupta Commission report recommending a full transfer. M Laikaw and the other CEMs have formally petitioned Governor Vijay Kumar Singh and Chief Minister Lalduhoma to release emergency funds and honor their constitutional mandates.
Updated at 8th October 2026 at 1:48am
The leadership warned that the financial crunch now hits far beyond the council offices. They report that the lack of funds impacts local churches and the general public, straining daily life across the three regions. While the state previously used Revised Estimates to cover cost-of-living adjustments and promotions between 2015 and 2020, those safety nets vanished during the second finance commission cycle. The councils received no such assistance for years, except for a solitary injection during the 2022-23 budget under the current Zoram People's Movement government.
The impasse stems from what the leaders call a system of parallel administration. They allege that while the state technically entrusted 20 departments to them back in 1993, the state government continues to run its own parallel operations and schemes within those same areas. This redundant oversight violates the spirit of the Sixth Schedule and leaves the councils powerless to manage the very functions they are tasked with governing.
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