LAHORE, Oct 14: The South Asia Partnership (SAP) has called upon the Punjab Assembly members to desist from criticising the NGOs without looking at their contribution to social development at grassroots level.

Referring to the confusion and doubts created about the objectives of SAP following the recent criticism of an MPA on its book entitled `Gender discrimination and balanced growth,’ a spokesman in a statement on Saturday clarified that the NGO had been working in all the four provinces as part of six South Asian regional networks for social, economic and political empowerment of deprived and marginalised segments of society.

The SAP spokesman said the NGO was not only creating awareness about human rights, democracy, good governance and poverty eradication among vulnerable groups of society through 1,500 affiliated community based organisations of men and women striving for social development in backwards areas.

The SAP had assisted in implementation of poverty eradication programme of the federal government in six districts of Punjab by organising mother committees in rural areas and provided services in 1,456 girl schools. More than 100,000 girls had benefited from the programme during the past three years. Enrolment ratio of girls had increased to 100 per cent in the areas and a sizeable number of educated girls had got employment.

The SAP had also completed 77 small physical infrastructure schemes under the Farmers Development Programme in Pakpattan, Khanewal, Lodhran and Layyah districts with the support of farmers’ committees. A sizeable number of people contested recent local government elections and won as a result of the citizen education programme.

Camps were also set up for the awareness of voters in 40 districts - 10 districts in every province. Dialogues were also arranged on political code of conduct in all parts of the country.

The SAP spokesman said the NGO was running Strengthening Democratic Governance Programme in 40 districts - 10 in each province - for enhancing skills of local government representatives and had set up 40 centres for creating awareness among workers and peasants about their rights.

Model union councils were also being established in 20 districts.