No injustice to Parvatkar family: Gawade

the goan I network
PANAJI
Minister for Tribal Welfare Govind Gawade, on Tuesday, set the record straight about the Parvatkar family from Old Goa, whose house was demolished on the morning of August 17.  
The Parvatkar family came into the spotlight for several reasons, but mainly because the family alleged that they had been given no notice before their house was demolished, and that the demolition squad had refused to listen to their pleas.  
However, when asked about the alleged injustice done to the family, one of whose members was pregnant, Gawade explained that the family was first served a notice 15 years ago about the imminent demolition of their house due to the National Highway project.  
Further, he said, they had once again been served a notice on January 1 this year, and had been given a 15-day deadline to shift.  
“The family did not take any initiative to shift, even though the government saw to it that they were given a plot of 304 sqmts,” said Gawade, insisting that the government had not done injustice to the family.  
“Their house was demolished after eight months of them being served a notice,” he said.  
Gawade also went on record to say that the family was being misguided by their lawyer.  
“The rules and regulations when it comes to the National Highway Project are very strict. The family is being misguided. If they were being treated unfairly, why did the Human Rights Commission (HRC) dismiss their appeal?” he questioned.  
The Human Rights
Commission dismissed the Parvatkar family’s appeal on August 16.
Nevertheless, the Minister for Tribal Welfare said he had a soft corner for the family because he was from the same community, but that their claims were invalid.  
He also claimed that
the family had not approached any of the official ST organisations in the state for help, and instead were spending tons of money on their lawyer.