Jakarta, Jan. 16 -- Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the government's lawsuit against six companies linked to flooding in North Sumatra underscores its zero-tolerance policy on environmental damage and its demand for full accountability for recovery efforts.

"The state cannot remain silent when the environment is damaged and the people are left to bear the consequences alone," Nurofiq said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.

The minister made the remarks after the government, through the Ministry of Environment, officially filed a Rp4.8 trillion civil lawsuit, or around US$283 million, against six companies suspected of causing extensive environmental damage in North Sumatra.

The lawsuit covers environmental damage in th...