PANAJI
Every foreign national kept at Goa’s detention centre carries a daily cost for the State, and the bill does not stop at keeping them behind its walls.
From four meals a day to basic needs and, in several cases, even the air ticket to send them back home when they claim they cannot afford one, the expenses are ultimately met from the government coffers.
At Rs 580 a day for food alone, the State is spending Rs 17,400 a month on meals for each detained foreigner. With a minimum of around 20 foreigners housed at the Mapusa facility on a typical day, the daily food bill works out to Rs 11,600 -- or nearly Rs 3.48 lakh a month.
Official details available with The Goan reveal that the amount covers breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner, served at 7 am, 12.30 pm, 4 pm and 8 pm respectively. The Department of Social Welfare stated that the food has to meet prescribed nutritional, hygiene and safety standards and be freshly prepared and delivered in clean, covered containers.
The arrangement has become costlier than last year. In 2025, the Directorate had sanctioned Rs 499 per person per day for food -- either cooked or towards raw materials for foreigners who opt to cook for themselves. The detainees have this choice.
“Many foreigners prefer the raw-material option because the cooked meals generally consist of Indian or Goan preparations, while they prefer to prepare food according to their own tastes. With this, the government also bears the cost of cooking requirements as well as other necessities such as toiletries for each until their deportation,” a senior official revealed.
Set against the wages of people earning their living through hard physical labour in the State, the food bill takes on a sharper edge.
Tentative wage figures put a mistri’s daily earnings at around Rs 1,200, while a worker under him makes about Rs 1,100 and a helper between Rs 800 and Rs 900.
And food for each detained foreigner is only one part of the expenditure. Officials further told The Goan that on several occasions the government has to also purchase air tickets when the overstayers claim they have no money to pay for their return journey.
“We have several instances where foreigners convicted for illegal/ overstay say they are penniless or unable to afford the expensive airfares to return home. In such cases, the FRRO Goa writes to the government seeking sanction for the travel expenses. Once the amount is sanctioned, the ticket is purchased, and the foreigner is deported,” the official said, adding that some foreigners, however, bear the cost of their own return travel.
The detention centre has also had to contend with another awkward question about how foreigners housed behind its walls manage to record videos inside the facility and circulate them on social media – a situation that could pose a potential security threat.
