Obstructions in Fairways Act, 1881

The Obstructions in Fairways Act, 1881 empowers the Federal Government to clear navigation channels ('fairways') leading to Pakistan's ports and to stop people from creating new obstructions in them. Section 2 lets the government remove a sunk, stranded or abandoned vessel, or a fishing-stake, timber or other object left in a fairway, if it is or is likely to become a danger to navigation -- or, if it judges the object isn't worth removing, to destroy it instead.

Section 3 entitles the government to recover a reasonable sum for the expenses of removal, with any dispute over the amount decided finally by the District Magistrate. Section 4 requires the government to publish a Gazette notice describing what was removed, and when and from where. Section 5 then allows the government to sell the item by public auction if it remains unclaimed, or if the claimant won't pay the removal expenses and any customs duties owed -- immediately if it's perishable, or otherwise at least six months after the notice was published. Section 6 sets out how the sale proceeds are applied: expenses and the cost of the sale are deducted first, and any surplus goes to the owner, or is held for up to one year for anyone who later proves their right to it. Section 7 clarifies that 'vessel' includes its tackle, equipment, cargo and stores for purposes of this Act.

Section 8 lets the government make rules to regulate or prohibit placing fishing-stakes, dumping ballast or rubbish, or doing anything else in a fairway that could cause an obstruction or danger to navigation. Section 9 makes breaking such rules a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment for up to six months, or a fine of up to five hundred rupees, or both, triable in any district where the offender is found.

Section 10 provides for compensation where an existing, lawfully-established obstruction (one that had become lawful through long usage) is removed, destroyed, or its creation regulated or prohibited under this Act -- the person with a right to it can claim reasonable compensation from the government, with any dispute decided under the ordinary law governing compensation for land taken for public purposes (the Land Acquisition Act, 1894). Section 13, added later, clarifies that for fairways in inland waterways, references to the 'Federal Government' in this Act instead mean the concerned Provincial Government.

This is a very old colonial-era law (1881), amended repeatedly through 1937, 1949, 1961 and 1975 as government structures changed after independence, but the core mechanism -- government removal of navigation hazards with compensation and penalty provisions -- remains intact and specific figures such as the five-hundred-rupee fine cap and six-month imprisonment cap are directly stated in the text (Section 9), though these should still be checked against any subsequent amendment before being relied upon.