PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—Civil society groups and a resident affected by forest and land fire (karhutla) haze have filed a civil lawsuit. The suit names President Prabowo Subianto and nine other government officials, their lawyers said Thursday, September 17.

The West Kalimantan Nafas legal team said it lodged the case at the Pontianak District Court as a class action. This procedure allows representatives to bring a claim on behalf of people who share similar alleged harm. Lawyer Glorio Sanen said the filing had been assigned case number 292.

He said the team acted on instructions from civil society organizations and an individual. This person said residents have suffered from the fires and smoke.

“Acting on the authorization given by those we represent, we, the West Kalimantan Napas legal team, have taken legal action,” Glorio said at a news conference in Pontianak.

Besides the president, the lawyers named the vice president, the Forestry Ministry, and the Environment Ministry. They also named the national police chief, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the health minister, the finance minister, the West Kalimantan governor, and the provincial police chief.

The plaintiffs allege shortcomings in the authorities’ response and seek stronger fire control and protection for affected residents. Additionally, they want measures to prevent recurring haze. Those allegations remain for the court to examine.

The filing comes as firefighting continues in the province. In its September 17 situation report, BNPB recorded approximately 122.9 hectares burned in West Kalimantan on September 16. Teams had extinguished fires across about 65.6 hectares, while approximately 57.3 hectares remained under response.

BNPB also reported continued air-quality monitoring amid reduced visibility and higher particulate concentrations. These figures describe conditions on that reporting day, not the total area burned throughout 2026.

BNPB says the broader response has included ground operations, aerial patrols, water bombing and weather-modification operations where conditions permit.

That response will be relevant to the dispute. However, the existence of firefighting operations does not by itself settle whether the authorities fulfilled the duties alleged in the lawsuit.

Under Indonesia’s class-action rules, judges must first consider whether the representatives and claims satisfy the legal criteria. Only then does the case proceed on that basis.

The plaintiffs’ central question is whether the government did enough to protect West Kalimantan residents from recurring fires and haze. The court, after hearing the parties and examining the evidence, will decide that question.