New Delhi, Sep 6 - The government has sanctioned 71 new fast-track courts to speed up the war against corruption, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). These will come up in various states soon.

The government's move follows an appeal made publicly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by CBI director Ashwani Kumar here last month.

Kumar made the plea at a CBI gathering where he pointed out the 'weak justice system' that was slowing down efforts to net the corrupt and bring them to justice.

'The CBI has always been active in its war against corruption. But the prime minister's impassioned speech (at our meeting) has indeed encouraged us,' CBI spokesman Harsh Bahl told IANS.

'We have resolved to complete all our investigations within one year and conclude the trial of corruption cases within two years.'

Bahl added that the government had sanctioned 71 fast-track courts to speed up the prosecution and bring the accused to justice quickly. 'These will be established in various states.'

Bahl also said that the CBI was moving to fill up 'some vacancies in the prosecution wing'.

Speaking at the CBI biennial conference, Manmohan Singh had warned that corruption was seriously hurting the mass of poor people in India.

'The poor are disproportionately hurt because of corruption,' he said. 'We have some of the most ambitious and wide-ranging programmes in place to help the poor and the deprived sections of the society.'

Manmohan Singh called corruption a menace that 'tarnishes our image' and 'hurts our economic growth in a variety of ways'.