Calcutta, May 21: Left partners today nudged the government to be “cautious” before pushing ahead with the chemical hub in Nayachar.

The Trinamul Congress had earlier opposed the project — shifted from Nandigram — because of environmental reasons.

In the cabinet meeting at the Writers’ today, the CPI and the RSP spoke on similar lines as Trinamul.

Water resource minister Nandagopal Bhattacharjee of the CPI said that the government should not “rush into” setting up the chemical hub.

“Scientists and environmentalists have differing opinions on clearing the chemical hub in Nayachar,” he said. “There is a lot of opposition from the common people as well. A survey should be conducted and the opinions of others taken before moving ahead. Caution is the key.”

The RSP’s Kshiti Goswami, who is the PWD minister, echoed Bhattacharjee. “The government has to come clean on the whole issue,” Goswami said. “We want to know what exactly is being planned there and whether it is being handed over to promoters. The entire issue has to be looked into closely before going ahead.”

Bhattacharjee said: “The manner in which land was acquired in the state was not correct. Even the minorities were scared of the Left because of the land issue. We, as Left Front partners, had told the CPM and the government about this but no one paid any attention to us.”

When the Left Front had released its joint manifesto last month, the CPM’s partners had insisted that Nayachar be mentioned as a “proposed” project — the state government is awaiting the environment clearance from the Centre.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in an effort to keep the front united then, had toed the line, although his government had said the Centre’s approval was a mere formality.