Abstract: The economic aspects of water resource planning involve the evaluation so far, as practicable in monetary terms of the physical potentialities of the catchment for alternate courses of action involving types of uses, different configurations and sequences of development in time. Interpretation in terms of monetary values of the consequences of alternate courses of action, though most convenient way for comparison, is not always possible since extra market consequences, indirect benefits also become important influences in deciding the project acceptability. This is so because in a welfare economy, economic efficiency measured in terms of market value of what the economy produces is an imperfect measure of economic welfare. The measurement of benefits and costs of development programmes should extend beyond mere market values.