Immediately after the creation of the new State of Uttaranchal in November 2000, a cell was setup under the aegis of Dean (SRIC) to provide a direct link between the Institute (then University of Roorkee) and the State Government. The Uttaranchal Development Cell facilitates interaction between the faculty of the Institute with various ministries, departments and other agencies of Uttaranchal Government. It ensures that technical expertise of the Institute is made expeditiously available for both planning and implementation of development projects in the State.
An MOU was signed between AHEC and Energy Department, Govt. of Uttaranchal on 16th June 2001. Under this MOU the AHEC is acting as the expert organisation for Uttaranchal Government in the area of small hydro-electric power.
Another MOU was signed between the Institute and the Government of Uttaranchal on 10th May 2002 for IT initiatives. A team of faculty members drawn from the Departments of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Management Studies and Earth Sciences is implementing a pilot project on Pro-Poor IT Initiatives in Uttaranchal with a funding of US$1 Million from UNDP.
A number of other projects, aimed at renovation, modernisation and uprating of old power plants in Uttaranchal, rehabilitation of Nainital Lake and other lakes in the state, restoration of heritage buildings and solving the problem of foundation erosion of transmission towers, etc., sponsored by Government of Uttaranchal, have been carried out by various departments of IIT Roorkee.
