The state excise department has assured the company that it will get the licences as soon as the entire land needed for the complex is acquired and mutated in Shaw Wallace's favour, the company said in a press release.

Shaw Wallace has already acquired around 28.5 acres out of the 33 acres needed for the project. The rest will be acquired by the end of this month, and all other licences by mid-September.

The liquor major also said that it will continue to stress redeployment and retraining. It said that it has been "carrying" a large number of "sub-optimally utilised" employees at its headquarters in Calcutta, and aims to redeploy them at its other work locations.

The company's media consultant said surplus staff at the headquarters will be offered suitable postings elsewhere and those opting for Dankuni will be retained till the plant comes up.

The release said the Calcutta office has been left with surplus staff over the years as Shaw Wallace decided to focus on liquor and beer. Earlier, it had a large number of east-oriented businesses such as tea plantations, yeast, mining and shipping.

The company said it is "determined to safeguard the interests of its employees, despite the fact that the management has not been receiving the expected level of co-operation from the work force".

Younger, educated staff capable of being retrained is being redeployed at other work locations with suitable enhancements.

The release quoted managing director Ravi Jain as saying that the human factor has always been of paramount importance in Shaw Wallace and there has been no change in that policy ever.

"We would like to build relationships that are more purposeful, reciprocal and enduring. We would like to have more factories in West Bengal than offices," Jain said.

The capacity of the Bhadrakali-based Bengal Distilleries will double when it is relocated at Dankuni. The Rs 22-crore project will have an annual capacity of 1.2 lakh cases of Indian made foreign liquor.