He fought to bring transparency in office

For Dr Lalit Narayan Mishra (33), the Best PIO Awards 2009 winner, bringing transparency to his office in a Uttar Pradesh district was no mean task.

For Dr Lalit Narayan Mishra (33), the Best PIO Awards 2009 winner, bringing transparency to his office in a Uttar Pradesh district was no mean task.

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"Right from my student days, I always wanted to change the system. When Right to Information (RTI) came into existence, I found the required weapon for doing so," he says.

Mishra won the RTI Award because he provided complete and correct information to all applications he received during 2008. When feedback was collected from people, all of them expressed satisfaction.

In 2006, he launched a website to voluntarily disclose information related to the education department.

The journey was not easy for Mishra, who faced opposition from various quarters.

"My colleagues questioned as to why our department is taking special steps for RTI implementation and not others. They feared that their other source of income may be affected," he says.

Commissioned as Assistant Accounts Officer in the Lucknow Cane Commissioner's office in 2002, Mishra says he always thought there should be better transparency in government's working. He was posted as District Commandant of Home Guards in 2005 when the RTI Act came into force.