Abstract
Pakistan is a country with enormous potential, which is being exhausted due to heavy economic drawbacks and least utilization of its natural and human resources. These factors can be attributed towards increasing poverty among the rural community. Social mobilization is the cornerstone of participatory approaches in poverty reduction and rural development programs. At present a number of projects are being undertaken for the reduction of rural poverty in the saline and waterlogged areas of Pakistan. In 1998, the project entitled "Pakistan Community Development Project for the Rehabilitation of Saline and Waterlogged Land" was launched with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), along with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Government of Pakistan (through its appointed lead agency, International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute (IWASRI). One of the key mandates for these foreign donors was to ensure that the project works for the poverty reduction and raising of living standards of the people suffering from losses. The project was operating at three sites in the Punjab namely; Pindi Bhattian (District Hafizabad), Sahiwal (District Sargodha) and Shorkot (District Jhang). The present study was present was conducted to evaluate the social mobilization services provided under bio-saline project in the rural areas of tehsil Shorkot, district Jhang. For conducting the study, a list of Salt Land User Groups (SLUGs) was obtained form the respective site office, from which the population for the present study was determined. Out of sixteen project villages, six villages were selected randomly and 20 respondents from each village who were the members of SLUGs were selected at random. Thus, making a total number of 120 respondents for the study. The data were collected through an interview schedule. The results revealed that an overwhelming majority (98.3%) of the respondents reported that social mobilization procedure and strategies were adequate. The results further reveal that a vast majority (91.7%) of the respondents was not involved in project activities. Key Words: Impact, social mobilization, water logging, salinity
