Kathmandu, April 16 -- Three weeks after assuming office, Prime Minister Balendra Shah began consultations with provincial governments on Thursday, listening to their grievances and assuring them of efforts to strengthen the provinces.

During the three-hour meeting, the chief ministers voiced dissatisfaction over what they described as the federal government's continued reluctance to devolve authority in order for the provinces to exercise their constitutional rights.

The chief ministers, who travelled to Kathmandu at the prime minister's invitation, raised concerns that the provinces had not been fully functional as envisaged in the 2015 constitution.

The interaction marked one of the most direct engagements between the federal and pr...