National flag installation at each central university to cost Rs 45 lakh

W DELHI: Nationalism may be a priceless sentiment but the decision to install the national flag in all central universities entails a small cost.

It takes Rs 40-45 lakh to install a national flag at a height of 200 feet or so and a monthly maintenance expenditure of about Rs 65,000, the Flag Foundation of India CEO Commander (retd) KV Singh told ET.

"We have installed about 65 flags across the country so far, including several 200-feet high ones," said Singh.

"We source a specially designed high tensile steel pole from two firms in Pune. This follows our technical specifications so that it can support a considerably large flag. The flag itself, made from knitted polyester, is sourced from a Mumbai shop," he said.

A resolution was adopted on Thursday in a meeting of vice chancellors chaired by human resource development minister Smriti Irani to hoist the national flag in all 46 central universities in a measure aimed at instilling a sense of nationalism among students."At a central place at every university, the national flag will be flown prominently and proudly," the resolution passed at the conference said. HRD ministry officials said while the cost estimates are yet to be worked out, funds will not be a constraint. They said it is envisaged that a national flag be installed at a height of 207 feet in every central university. The 207-feet high tricolour installed in Delhi’s Central Park in 2014 is said to be the template that the ministry is working on. The flag installed in Delhi cost about Rs 40 lakh, officials said.

According to the Congress politician and industrialist Naveen Jindal-led Flag Foundation of India, which is in the forefront of the mission to install "monumental flags" across the country, the cost goes up because the specially designed and fabricated high tensile steel that is sourced from two firms in Pune to hold up the tricolour is considerably heavy.

The firms that supply high tensile steel for the monumental flagpoles are Bajaj Electricals and Trans India, while the Flag Shop in Mumbai supplies the knitted polyester for the national flag. The Flag Foundation of India brought the concept of monumental flagpoles to India in 2009, with the first one installed at a height of 207 feet in Kaithal in Haryana. Singh, however, clarified that the ministry has not approached the foundation yet regarding installation of the national flag in central universities.

The entire set-up for a monumental flag comes complete with a lightning conductor and strong lighting system and also usually requires a security set-up, he said. The flag stands on a steel pole of 4.5 feet diameter at base and 2.5 feet diameter at the apex. It measures 60 feet wide and 90 feet long, and weighs 35 kg. The steel pole is designed with particular specifications and gradient to ensure the flag stays aflutter.

As per the foundation, these flags are not lowered even at sunset as they are adequately illuminated.