Mohali, Sept. 22 -- Land pooling continues to be the preferred option among owners whose land is being acquired for the Aerotropolis project, with only a handful opting for cash compensation. According to the latest Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) data, 2,468 applications had been received through the online land acquisition service by 3 pm on Monday. Of these, 2,206 are currently under process, while 262 have been completed and closed. The data shows that among 2,281 applications for which the compensation choice has been recorded, 1,896 (83%) applicants have opted for land pooling, covering 1,102 acres. Another 382 (16%) applications, covering 192 acres, have opted for the clubbing option. Only three applicants (0.1%), covering 0.2 acre, have opted for cash compensation. In land pooling, the owners pool their land with the development authority for the project. The authority uses the pooled land for planned development - roads, residential areas, commercial areas, public facilities, etc. In return, the landowner gets a developed plot or plots of a specified type and size, rather than simply receiving the entire compensation amount in cash. The cash compensation option is more straightforward. The landowner gives up the land and receives monetary compensation determined under the applicable land acquisition/compensation framework. Clubbing means combining the landholding/entitlements of two or more land parcels or applicants to obtain a larger plot or a combined plot option under the pooling scheme. This can be useful where a landowner has multiple parcels, or where eligible landholdings are combined so that the resulting entitlement can be accommodated as a larger or different plot configuration. Under the land-pooling option, the maximum - 1,661 applicants - have opted for residential plots, 176 for residential-cum-commercial plots and 59 for part-residential, part-residential/commercial plots. Under clubbing, 315 applicants have selected residential plots, while 67 have opted for residential-cum-commercial plots. With a large number of applications still under process, a senior GMADA official said additional staff would be deployed to speed up the issuance of Letters of Intent. "Permission has been received to depute 10 revenue officials to take on the task of giving LOIs. From Tuesday, we are deputing more staff and all remaining LOIs will be issued in 15-20 days," an official informed. As of September 21, 112 LOIs had been signed. According to GMADA officials, in all, around 7,000 applications are expected as a substantial number of landowners are still expected to apply in the coming weeks. An official said the remaining applicants were expected to submit their applications by November 17....