Calcutta/Tamluk, Oct. 17: The Apeejay Group told the government today it was against setting up the proposed shipyard at Geonkhali on “forcibly-acquired” land.

“We are not in favour of setting up industry by acquiring land forcibly. We want to go ahead with consent from the landowners,” Apeejay Group director Saurav Das Patnaik said after a meeting with the industries secretary.

Apeejay and Bharati Shipyard had proposed the Rs 2,000-crore project on 500 acres in Geonkhali, 50km from Nandigram in East Midnapore.

Owners of 250 acres have given their consent to the acquisition in writing and owners of 55 acres have objected to it.

The owners of the remaining land have neither said yes nor no. So, the administration assumes they have no objection to the acquisition plan.

Patnaik said he was “hopeful”. “But it is not possible for us to wait indefinitely. We want to know by October whether the people of Geonkhali support the project.”