The correct answer is option 3 which means Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have ascending order (from lowest to highest) of forest cover in relation to their total area.

Let`s dissect all options for better understanding:

Option 1 suggests that Madhya Pradesh has the lowest forest cover relative to total area, followed by Maharashtra, then Chhattisgarh and, lastly, Odisha. This is incorrect as Maharashtra has less forest cover percentage compared to Madhya Pradesh.

Option 2 posits that Madhya Pradesh has the least forest cover percentage relative to its total area, followed by Maharashtra, Odisha, and then Chhattisgarh. This, however, is again incorrect because Maharashtra rather than Madhya Pradesh has the lowest forest cover to total area ratio.

Option 3 is the correct answer because it lists correctly that Maharashtra has the smallest percentage of forest cover to total area, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and finally Chhattisgarh, which has the highest.

Option 4 proposes that Maharashtra has the least forest cover relative to total state area, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and finally Odisha. This is not true because Chhattisgarh has a larger forest