Mumbai, July 7 (IANS) Following a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Maharashtra government has set up six special courts to try cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), an official said here Thursday.

 
 The courts are among the total 71 special courts created all over India under the prime minister's directive vide his letter dated July 24, 2009, to all state chief ministers.
 
 The special courts are expected to drastically reduce pendency of CBI-related cases in the state.
 
 Three of CBI courts are set up in Mumbai and one each in Pune, Nagpur and Amravati.
 
 In Mumbai, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has as many as 406 cases pending trial in the existing courts, the official said.
 
 Under the prime minister’s scheme, all the expenses for the CBI courts would be borne by the central government.