Bengaluru: The Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to recommend to Governor Vajubhai R Vala to grant remission of sentences to 188 life convicts with good conduct to mark Republic Day celebrations.

Briefing media persons after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra said that these convicts included eight women, who have served jail term of seven years.

The minister said the Cabinet has also decided to allow one-time regularization of gomal land for applicants who have been cultivating it without permission. “It will apply to only those who have already submitted applications under the bagair hukum scheme. The applications seeking regularization of cultivation of gomal land were pending for a long time as there was no provision to grant gomal land under the scheme. Hence, the land grant rules will be amended as a one-time measure to dispose of such applications,’’ the minister said.

He said 3.4 lakh applications seeking grant of about 11 lakh acres of government land, including gomal land, were pending with the government.