Jaipur, July 31 -- Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that the Centre's own data tabled in Parliament validated the previous Congress government's environmental conservation efforts. In a post on X, Gehlot said that according to data presented by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change in the Lok Sabha on July 20 , Rajasthan's forest cover increased from 26,995 sq km in the ISFR 2023 to 27,389 sq km, registering a growth of 394.46 sq km. He said the spike placed Rajasthan fourth in net forest cover gain and noted that the period covered mainly his tenure, attributing the improvement to initiatives including the Ghar-Ghar Aushadhi Yojana, large-scale plantation under MGNREGA and enhanced budget aid for the forest department He added that only 1.69 crore saplings were verified under the state government's ongoing plantation drive during 2025-26, despite an expenditure of Rs.127.78 crore and demanded a probe into the matter. Commenting on it, state BJP's Ram Lal Sharma said: "Social organisations, activists, and the public also undertake tree plantation drives. Therefore, the Congress party's claim ... is incorrect. As for the BJP, its workers have been actively promoting tree plantation under PM Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign."...