Panaji, Mar 26 (IANS): Odiya and Bihari labourers hired on contract for Goa's mining industry need to be "shunted" out of the state as the mining ban is forcing them towards crime, Congress legislator Vishwajeet Rane alleged Tuesday.

Rane was speaking during the question hour during the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly.

"A large number of people from Bihar and Odisha are brought to Goa on contract for mining. None of us knows if their police verification is done. They have to be shunted out of Goa, or we will not be able to control crime," Rane said on the issue of the rising crime rate in Goa.

Rane blamed the mining ban and the subsequent unemployment for the spate of crimes in the state, including numerous thefts and robberies.

Responding to Rane, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the state home ministry would intensify verification of labourers by fixing the onus of responsibility on contractors who hire them from other states and shepherd them into the mining sector.

A large number of labourers, drivers and other petty chore workers are hired from other states to work in the state's mining sector. The Supreme Court has banned mining for the past six months following investigations into malpractices by the M.B.Shah Commission.