Government to provide 13.5 billion rupees to hail-hit farmers - source

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will provide 13.5 billion rupees to farmers affected by heavy rains and hailstorms in two key producing states, a government source said on Thursday. "The state governments of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have notified disaster/calamity in some areas of their respective states. After a survey, the government has decided to give 13.5 billion rupees as relief to farmers," the source said. The government does not need an approval from the Election Commission since the state governments have already notified the calamity or disaster. But the watchdog prohibits the government from publicising the relief, as India goes to polls from next month. Unseasonal rains since the last week of February damaged crops in nearly 3 million hectares in both states that could have been harvested now. "There could be some damage to the wheat and rapeseed crops, but the major damage is to chickpea and horticulture crops. It will take some more time to study the exact extent of damages," the source said. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj)