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Dr Lalit Narayan Mishra

For 33-year-old Dr Lalit Narayan Mishra bringing transparency to his small office in Auriya and later Etawah districts of Uttar Pradesh was no mean task. He began work as public information officer (PIO) in 2006 with a lot of determination and not much support from his junior-level officers. But three years on, even after his transfer from Etawah to Dehradun in Uttarakhand, his work at District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) office in Etawah speaks volumes. And there are quite a number of firsts to his credit. His was the first office in the entire district to implement RTI Act. He launched the first website of education department in the entire state (www.diosetawah.co.in) and took initiatives to voluntarily disclose information on it. Mishra opened an email account which can be used by people to send their queries, complaints and RTI applications. His office spread awareness about RTI Act in remote villages with the help of a number of NGOs. Even numbers prove that this agriculture doctorate was an exceptional PIO. In the last one year of his tenure as PIO, he received 84 applications and gave satisfactory information in all of them within the stipulated time limit of 30 days.

Why has he been shortlisted? Because he provided complete and correct information to all 60 applications that he received during the calendar year 2008. All applications were responded to within 30 days. No first or second appeal was filed against him. And all the people to who we wrote, expressed satisfaction with the information provided by him

Because people should know – that is how Dr Lalit Narayan Mishra explains the importance of Right to Information (RTI) Act. “We are working for the people and they have a right to know. After all it is their work and their money,” says Dr Mishra. The explanation might sound simplistic to some and plain idealistic to others but it has become the motto of the entire District Inspector of Schools Office (DIOS) in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. And this 33-year-old Provincial Education Service officer hailing from remote Gauhana village in Faizabad is responsible for bringing a transparency revolution of sorts by implementing RTI Act in its true spirit.

Commissioned as assistant accounts officer in Lucknow Cane Commissioner’s office in 2002, Mishra says he always thought there should be better transparency in government’s working. Then came RTI Act in 2005 when he was posted as district commandant of Home Guards. “I remember we used to hear radio programmes on RTI Act that how it can help people to get information about everything. As young officers sitting together we used to think that it is such a good Act and we whenever become PIOs would be very transparent and forthcoming in providing information,” remembers Mishra.

His opportunity finally came in 2006 when he was posted as additional district inspector of schools (ADIOS) in Auriya district. “I came up with the idea that we should voluntarily disclose information so that people on a general basis know basic facts about lists or eligibility criteria for a scheme or scholarship. There was a lot of resistance from the junior level officers. It required a change in the mindset of the people,” says Mishra.

He launched a website to voluntarly disclose information related to education department and recognized schools. The website (www.diosetawah.co.in) lists out several programmes including adult education, vocational training, career after intermediate, eligibility for different jobs and books recommended by UP board. To make functioning of recognized schools more transparent he even appointed principals as information officers.

As Auriya and Etawah DIOS offices were combined, Mishra got better opportunity to implement RTI Act effectively. His office became the first in the district to introduce the Act. Ramesh Chandra Jatav, a resident of Etawah who used RTI Act quite liberally, says, “As an applicant I had never any problem in applying for information. The processes were so simple. Whenever we went to the DIOS office, there were big information boards apprising the applicant on how to apply for information and not give in to any threats or intimidation by anyone. We always got information within one month.”

Mishra started disclosing information that used to be inaccessible to people. One of the cases he recalls is that of 20,000 beneficiaries under state’s Kanyadhan Rashi Scheme. “When I got posted here I realized that officials used to take money just to give basic information like whether a person’s name is in the list of beneficiaries or not. I decided that we must put out the list on the web,” he says.

This saved the people trouble of coming to DIOS office as the list became public and underhand dealings were reduced completely. Ravindra Yadav, who took over as PIO in DIOS office after Mishra left as SDM in Dehradun, explains, “He was the first PIO of our department and he set such innovative processes in place. He thought of voluntarily disclosing information. This put all information – like seniority list or date of appointment of teachers – in the public domain. So, RTI applications or disputes related to service matters do not arise now.”

His record as a PIO was impeccable. From July 2007 till July 2008 he received 84 RTI applications and gave them satisfactory information within 30 days. Not even a single went in appeal for denial or dissatisfactory information. “You do that only when you have something to hide. I have nothing to hide. You ask for file notings or anything DIOS will give you because there is nothing to hide,” says Mishra.

This doctorate in agriculture feels that RTI is a big weapon in the hands of the people. “I was able to bring about better transparency in the office because officials realized that even their file notings could be seen by people later. A poor man from a village can no longer be fooled. So they started thinking twice before taking any decision or even intentionally delaying certain files or decisions,” says Mishra.

He, however, feels that state governments should take a more proactive role in RTI implementation. “Departments are increasingly getting into the habit of transferring an application to another department without finding out if the second office holds that information or not. This practice should be completely stopped,” says Mishra.

Despite starting a new era in this remote district of UP, Mishra remains unassuming. “I hope I get another opportunity to become a PIO in Uttarakhand,” he says. EOM

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