Government employees working in the same administrative yard in Nantong, Jiangsu province, have been informing each other about meetings by sending notices through courier services, sparking a heated discussion online.

A government employee surnamed Dong was quoted by Xinhua Daily as saying that she recently received an express delivery that informed her of a meeting even though the sender from a different government department actually works in the same yard.

The delivery cost 20 yuan ($3) and the money could have been saved, she said.

The report found that at least 60 people on the list of meeting participants are working in the same yard and some of them admitted they received the notices through couriers.

Staff at the mailroom in the administrative yard were quoted by the paper saying that such situations are not rare.

Some government departments in the same building send each other mail through the post office, though they are just a few floors apart.

The case raised heated discussion among local residents.

Some said such irresponsible behavior wasted tax money and others said government departments should start practicing thrift with trivial things.