Bhubaneswar, May 24: Slum dwellers across the city will get pipe water connection with two taps installed for each household.

The housing and urban development department decided to implement the project free of cost under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme after cases of jaundice surfaced last month from a slum near Naveen Nivas, the chief minister's residence.

Authorities hope to execute the project by early next year. One tap will be fitted in the kitchen and the other in the toilet. The Public Health Engineering Organisation has been asked to finalise modalities to execute the plan.

At present, the slum dwellers depend mainly on stand posts for water supply. But, this is neither safe nor convenient.

"This is a welcome step as this will ensure regular and safe water for each household," said Kargil Basti resident Jyoti Mahanta.

Provision of safe and good quality drinking water has been high on the state government's priority list, especially after the outbreak of jaundice and other water-borne diseases in the city. Jharana Basti, a slum near the chief minister's residence, had reported cases of jaundice in April with more than 50 persons being affected.

"Safe drinking water became a necessity here with frequent cases of jaundice and diarrhoea being reported in the area. More than 50 persons in our locality were affected by jaundice after consuming contaminated water. The authorities should expedite the process of providing safe drinking water to the people," said Jharana Basti resident Pramod Jena.

The department is already executing 38 drinking water projects that were planned in 2015-16. These will benefit nearly 50,000 residents, excluding those residing in slums.

"We have already come up with a master plan to provide safe drinking water to all areas of the city, mainly slums. This will be provided free to the urban poor," said superintending engineer of the public health organisation Chitta Ranjan Jena.

The scheme will also be executed in eight other Amrut cities - Sambalpur, Balasore, Baripada, Berhampur, Bhadrak, Puri, Rourkela and Cuttack. Sources said the new initiative would benefit residents of 329 slums in these cities.

The plan also envisages replacement of old pipes with new ones.

"The main objective under Amrut is to provide access to safe drinking water for everyone. Of the total funds sanctioned under various projects of the Amrut scheme, 25 per cent will be spent on executing the water supply projects," said a department official.