Kathmandu, July 25 -- From a distance, the buildings look grand, similar in style to the dozens of housing colonies that have sprung up across the Valley in the past decade. On closer inspection, signs of abandonment come into view: fading paint, mouldy ceilings, and hastily plastered cracks on the walls. There's no electricity, no running water and no occupants.

Nearly five years after completion, the housing complex in Ichangu Narayan, built to house squatter families, remains vacant, except for the ground floor where a ward office and temporary police unit have taken up residence.

"Even I am curious to know what happened to this project," said Ram Chandra Lama, Ward 1 chair of Nagarjun Municipality, who has been operating his office ...