JAIPUR: Half-a-dozen top bureaucrats of the state government faced flak from the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday for failing to take effective measures to remove encroachments from the Ramgarh Dam's catchment area. The court granted last chance to the bureaucrats to formulate a policy to protect the state's water bodies in accordance with the Abdul Rehman judgment passed by the Jodhpur bench in 2004. The court rapped the government for 'sleeping over' the judgment for seven years. The decree required the state to make all its natural water bodies like rivers, lakes, dams and ponds free from encroachments and restore them to their conditions that existed on August 15, 1947. As the government officials reasoned that restoring the 1947 status of these bodies was "impractical," the court directed them to decide a feasible cut off date for the purpose and then act swiftly to remove the encroachments. The court suggested that FIRs be registered and the encroachers be arrested, but not let the water bodies choke under pressure from the influential. Justice MN Bhandari has granted time till December 20 to the heads of the government departments concerned to demonstrate their seriousness in removing the encroachments around dried up Ramgarh Dam. The bench remarked that if the government could prevent "theft" of just the MGNREGS funds, the 'saved' money could take care of ensuring drinking water for the entire state. The mining department's chief was particularly pointed out about a large lake near Kumbhalgarh that almost vanished as the government turned a blind eye when marble slurry was being dumped in it. Justice Bhandari ordered that illegal land allotments made in the Dam's catchment area and the government authorities made accountable to cancel such allotments be identified before the court. Further allotments or opening land mutations in catchments areas of water bodies have been restrained by the court until the land's nature was fully established. Department heads who appeared before the bench on Thursday included principal secretaries Ram Lubhaya (water resources), Govind Sharma (mines), Ram Khilada Meena (revenue), CS Rajan (panchayati raj) and VS Singh (forest, environment and pollution). Additional chief secretary (UDH) PK Deb was not summoned by the bench but he appeared for the hearing as his department, too, would be involved in removing encroachments. The court appreciated Deb's gesture. JDA commissioner Kuldeep Ranka was also present. The bench appointed principal secretary (forest, environment and pollution) Singh as the nodal authority to ensure compliance of the court order in reviving the state's water bodies.