The government has, in principle, decided to set up a National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms. The Law and Justice Minister, Mr. M Veerappa Moily said this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. He said that the period of pendency of cases in the courts is expected to reduce from an average of 15 years to an average of three years by the year 2012 after the National Mission gives effect to its strategies. Mr. Moily said the department is currently in the process of finalizing the matter of setting up of the National Mission. The Minister said all the district and subordinate courts in the country are being computerized under the E-courts Mission Mode Project. He said it is also proposed to inter-connect all these courts as part of a dedicated wide area network. He said the government has also accepted the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission for the provision of five thousand crore rupees for the improvement of delivery of justice in the country. He said the recommendations include setting up of morning, evening, shift, special magistrates' courts and strengthening of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation, conciliation and Lok Adalats. In another written reply, the Minister said there has been a steady increase in the number of Lok Adalats organised and cases disposed during the last three years indicating that this form of alternative dispute redressal mechanism is gaining popularity.