T Muruganandam | ENS Chennai, THE only serious attempt to regulate the proliferation of disposable plastics in the State was made in 2002, when the then AIADMK government introduced a Bill on the subject in the Assembly. Solidly backing the Bill on the floor of the House, the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said she was upset at finding plastic tumblers and other articles littered by tourists visiting the Nilgiris.Introduced on May 7, the Tamil Nadu Plastic Articles (Prohibition of Sale, Storage, Transport and Use) Bill 2002 (L.A. Bill 22 of 2002) witnessed a stormy debate. A day later, it was referred to the Select Committee of the Assembly . And on January 31, 2003, the government withdrew the Bill. Jayalalithaa said her government saw merit in the demand for increasing public awareness about the adverse impact of plastics before going ahead with the ban. She also pointed out that the government required time to work out the modalities of implementing the Bill