The detention centre in Goalpara is being built at a cost of Rs 46 crore.
The Assam government has renamed detention centres for foreigners to transit camps to humanise them. A 12-year-old notification was modified to rename the six detention centres in the state.
The detention centres housing 181 inmates are located within the central jails of Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Silchar and Tezpur. While 61 inmates are declared foreign nationals, 120 are convicted foreign nationals awaiting deportation.
"The nomenclature of the detention centre is changed to 'transit camp' for detention purpose", in partial modification of a June 2009 notification," the notification by Principal Secretary in the Home and Political Department said.
The first standalone detention centre to house 3,500 foreigners is being built Goalpara district adjoining Meghalaya at a cost of Rs 46 crore.
The detention centres in Kokrajhar, Silchar and Tezpur house 22 children - two are above 14 while 20 are below 14 years of age -along with their nine mothers.
At least 2,551 people were sent to detention centres in the period between December 23, 2009, and June 30, 2021, after they were declared non-Indian citizens by various Foreigners` Tribunals, according to official statistics.