Rs 283.5 million and increasing. That's how much damage the insurgency has inflicted on VDC buildings alone. At last count, 1,321 of Nepal's 3915 VDC buildings had been damaged by Maoists, mostly by fires and explosives. Work has come to a complete standstill in these seats of local self-governance. There are no plans so far to repair the buildings, due to budgetary constraints as well as Maoist threats that any VDC rebuilt would be attacked again.

Far-west Nepal has seen the most damage, with 83 percent-316-of its 383 VDC buildings have been destroyed. In the eastern region, 285 of the 893 VDC offices are gone, in the central region, 334 of 1199, in the western region 221 of 865 VDC offices are damaged, and in the mid-western region, the figures are 165 of 575 offices. The government does not yet have detailed reports of damage from all the regions.