Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) will file a class-action suit against 10 companies in Riau for allegedly starting forest fires during the month of August, a spokesman said.

The suit will be filed on September 6, Walhi Executive Director Halid Muhammad said here Saturday.

The NOAA-12 AVHRR and NOAA-16 AVHRR satellites in August detected 3,258 hot spots spread in many parts of Riau province, except Pekanbaru, and there were indications the fires had been caused by the activities of 10 companies in the region.

The number of hot spots in Riau was much higher than those in other provinces in the country.

"Details of the suit have almost been completed and it will represent three groups of people in society, namely parents whose children suffered from the smoke, people who have lost their rights to enjoy clean air and environment, and children who lost their right to get education as thick smoke forced schools to suspend classes," Halid said.

Walhi hoped that the class action would teach the public on their right to enjoy a healthy environment.

The 10 companies, according to Walhi, had been burning forest in their concessions from year to year.

The NGO was also planning to give the names of companies that had set forests on fire in Sumatra and Kalimantan last August to the Forestry Minister and the Chief of the Indonesian Police.

Walhi would also present its recommendations on the measures that need to be taken to anticipate forest fires in the future. It called on the police to take legal measures.

"This is a complicated issue. It happens almost every year and it has become an annual event in the forestry business. It`s time for the government to issue a clear policy to punish perpetrators of forest fires and ban the slash-and-burn system in land clearing," Halid said.