Chandigarh, July 4 -- The Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to upload the air and water sample results of every industrial unit across Punjab, along with action taken against violators, on its official website. The commission said proactive disclosure of pollution monitoring data is essential to protect public health and uphold the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The directive came while disposing of an RTI appeal filed by a Bathinda resident on Thursday. During the proceedings, the commission found that the PPCB had initially claimed such records were not maintained separately, leading to questions over transparency and record management. The petitioner, Rajpal Singh, had approached the PPCBregional office for copies of failed air and water sample reports relating to an industrial unit in Sangat Machhana village. The office responded that failed samples were not maintained separately and instead offered inspection of records. Dissatisfied with the response, the applicant pursued the matter before the state information commission. During the hearings, the commission questioned the board's record-keeping mechanism and sought clarification on how repeated violations were identified and acted upon if failed samples were not maintained separately. It also asked the PPCB to explain the procedure followed when industrial units repeatedly fail pollution norms, the applicable penalty provisions, and whether samples are tested by regional offices or other laboratories. The commission further noted an apparent contradiction in the board's submissions. While the PPCB claimed records of samples were maintained in a composite form rather than as failed samples, it also stated that repeated violations of emission and effluent standards were reported to the competent authority for action. The commission sought clarification on how repeat violations could be tracked if separate records of failed samples were unavailable. Following detailed proceedings, the PPCB voluntarily supplied the requested air and water sample records to the appellant before the final hearing. A show-cause notice issued to the environmental engineer-cum-public information officer over the alleged delay in furnishing information was subsequently withdrawn after the commission accepted his explanation. Disposing of the appeal, the commission said the larger issue extended beyond an individual RTI request and concerned environmental governance across Punjab. Stressing that pollution monitoring data directly impacts public health, it directed the PPCB to place the sampling results and consequential regulatory orders in the public domain without delay to ensure greater transparency, accountability and informed public participation in environmentalregulation....