Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday inaugurated a detention centre set up near here to lodge foreign nationals who violate visa norms.
The government spent Rs 50 lakh to convert the old sub-jail in Mapusa town, located around 9 km from here, into the detention centre for foreigners who were overstaying in Goa after expiry of their documents, Sawant said.
"The detention centre has separate rooms for men and women and over 20 inmates can be kept there at a time," he said, claiming this was the second such facility in the country, the first one being in New Delhi.
Foreigners illegally staying in the state would be kept at the facility till the procedure to deport them is not completed, the chief minister said.
All facilities in the detention centre would be provided by the social welfare department, while its security would be managed by the state police, he said.
Several lakh foreigners annually arrive in the coastal state, famous for its picturesque beaches, on business or tourist visas.
Goa Police had several cases of foreigners overstaying on expired visas, but in the absence of a detention centre, they would usually secure bail and continue to roam around in the state, an official earlier said.
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