Kanhaiya Lal Polytechnic was established, on 25th January, 1956 by the endless efforts of Shri Rai Sahab Kanhaiya Lal Ji. At the time of establishment, its name was Kanhaiya Lal Technical Institute (KTI) and only one course, Diploma in Civil Engineering was started.

In 1963, it was upgraded as Kanhaiya Lal Polytechnic and two other courses, Three Years Diploma in Mechanical (Production) Engineering & Diploma in Electrical Engineering were introduced. Later, Three Years Diploma in Electronics Engineering (1971), Two Years Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA) (1995) and Three Years Diploma in Mechanical (Automobile) Engineering (2008) courses were also added to the course list of institute.

Besides all, by keeping in view the sufficient resources, 20 students were additionally permitted to admit in second shift of each branch from 2008.

All the courses presently running in the institute are affiliated to Uttarakhand Board of Technical Education (UBTE), Roorkee and approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi. And the institute is running under the diligent management committee, constituted by state government. At present, Wg Cdr MK Garg, chairman KL Polytechnic.