Abstract: The paper reports the results of an empirical study on the profitability of rice cultivation in the rural areas of Allahabad by wastewater irrigation from natural drainage. The results show that plots using wastewater containing organic nutrients earn higher profits than those using groundwater. However, we also find the profitability of plots using wastewater negatively affected by the presence of heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni that are found in the water and soil.