Urban slums of East Singhbhum will become open defecation free by July 2017.

The promise was made by none other than deputy commissioner Amit Kumar in the presence of chief minister Raghubar Das during a discussion at Birsanagar, Jamshedpur, on Monday on how to improve hygiene and sanitation in the steel city.

"Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) already achieved the ODF (open defecation free) status this month with the completion of several public and community toilets. Other urban local bodies such as Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Jugsalai Municipality and Chakulia nagar panchayat will become ODF by July this year," Kumar said, adding that the drive was part of the Swachh Bharat campaign.

Chief minister Das has time and again committed that the state will attain ODF status by October 2018, a year ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's same ambitious target for the country.

According to MNAC city manager Shafiur Rahman, seven community toilet complexes have been set up in Mango, besides two for public.

"We had identified open defecation spots in a survey and have constructed toilets to end the practice. Each toilet complex cost us Rs 6 lakh. Each has three units for women and an equal number for men. We have also constructed 16 public urinals," Rahman said.

Regular counselling and awareness campaigns have been undertaken to educate communities on health hazards of open defecation and inform them about the new toilets, the city manager added.

The Mango civic area, spanning 16sqkm, now also boasts around 4,622 individual toilets out of a target of 5,000.

Taking a cue from MNAC, the JNAC is also ready to construct 16 community toilets in its command areas. Work is expected to begin by this month.

"We have identified open defecation spots, particularly along railway tracks and on riverbanks. Community toilets will come up near these locations. As many as 57 public toilets are also on the anvil," said JNAC city manager Shakil Ahmed Mehandi.

So far, the JNAC has constructed 7,000 individual toilets while 5,000 more are in the pipeline. "We hope to complete construction work in two months as money," the city manager added.

Under Jugsalai Municipality, two community and two public toilets have been completed. As many as 480 individual toilets have been built and the remaining 28 will be ready by this month.

In Chakulia area, 1,516 individual toilets have been constructed along with 11 community ones.